bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Price equation framework to study disease within‐host evolution
Authors: ALIZON S. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe evolution of infectious diseases is known to affect epidemiological dynamics, but, for some viruses and bacteria, this evolution also takes place inside a host during the course of an infection. I develop an original approach to study intrahost evolutionary dynamics of quantitative disease traits. This approach can be expressed mathematically using the ‘Price equation’ framework recently developed in evolutionary epidemiology. This framework combines population genetics and within‐host population dynamics models to identify trade‐offs that affect disease intrahost evolution and to predict short‐term evolutionary dynamics of life‐history traits. I show that this can be applied to study the evolution of viruses competing for host cells or to study the coevolution between parasites and the immune system of the host. This framework can also easily incorporate experimental data. Studying intrahost evolutionary dynamics provides insight at the within‐host level, because it allows us to better understand the course of chronic infections, and at the epidemiological level, because it helps to study multi‐scale evolutionary processes. This framework can be used to address important biological issues, from immune escape to disease evolutionary response to treatments.
Gender, socioeconomic status, need or access? Differences in statin prescribing across urban, rural and remote Australia
Authors: Stocks Nigel , Ryan Phil , Allan James , Williams Susan , Willson Kristyn 
Published: March 2009

AbstractObjectives:  To assess differences in statin prescribing across Australia by geographic area. Design, setting and participants:  A cross‐sectional study using Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme data on statin prescribing by rurality, gender and patient postcode for the period May to December 2002. Participants were the Australian population, stratified by gender, quintile of index of relative socioeconomic disadvantage and rural, remote and metropolitan areas classification. Results:  Statin prescribing (scripts per 1000 population per month) was higher in urban areas (women, 51.915; men, 51.892) than in rural (women, 48.311; men, 48.098) or remote (women, 39.679; men, 34.145) areas. In urban areas, weighted least squares regression analysis showed a significant negative linear association between statin prescribing and socioeconomic status for both women (weighted least squares slope, −3.358; standard error (SE) 0.057; P < 0.0001) and men (slope, −0.507; SE 0.056; P < 0.0001). A similar association occurred in rural areas: women (slope, −4.075; SE 0.122; P < 0.0001) and men (slope, −3.455; SE 0.117; P < 0.0001), but not in remote areas where there was a positive linear association (slope, 3.120; SE 0.451; P < 0.0001) and men (slope, 3.098; SE 0.346; P < 0.0001).Conclusion:  Our results suggest differences in statin prescribing in Australia across geographic location, adjusting for age, gender and socioeconomic status. Implications:  These findings suggest that health inequalities due to geography should be addressed.
Need for syphilis screening and counselling in HIV counselling and testing centres: A curtain raiser study from north India
Authors: Nag Vijaya Lakshmi , Dash Nihar Ranjan , Pathak Ashutosh , Agarwal Surendra Kumar 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground: Voluntary counselling and testing centres (VCTC) are important HIV screening points for the population with suspicion or apprehension for HIV, because of high‐risk exposures. Theoretically, these are also at the risk of having co‐infections, commonest being syphilis. The present short‐term study was aimed at knowing the sero‐reactivity of syphilis among a study cohort attending the VCTC in King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India.Method: During a 2.5‐month period, 49 HIV‐positive and 171 HIV‐negative sera were tested for venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL). The positive sera were further tested for treponema pallidum haemagglutination (TPHA).Result: Eleven (22.4%) HIV‐positive sera and 104 (60.8%) HIV‐negative sera were VDRL‐reactive (≥1:8 dilutions). Of these, TPHA was reactive in three (27.3%) and four (3.9%), respectively.Conclusion: The result might suggest the need for routine screening and counselling for syphilis at VCTC. Studies from other centres on larger population are required.
Uterine preservation in a woman with spontaneous uterine rupture secondary to placenta percreta on the posterior wall: A case report
Authors: Wang Le‐Ming , Wang Peng‐Hui , Chen Chi‐long , Au Heng‐Kien , Yen Yuan‐Kuei , Liu Wei‐Min 
Published: March 2009

AbstractSeveral cases in which uteruses have been preserved in women with placenta percreta have been reported. We herein report a 38‐year‐old woman with a history of previous cesarean section who was admitted with lower abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding at 31 weeks of gestation. An urgent exploratory laparotomy revealed active bleeding from the uterine rupture on the posterior uterine wall. A female infant weighing 1560 g, with Apgar scores of 1, 1, and 3 at 1, 5, and 10 min, respectively, was delivered, and the placenta was removed. We performed bilateral uterine vessel occlusion, followed by wedge resection of the ruptured uterine wall with the aid of an intrauterine muscle injection of 20 IU oxytocin, a local injection of diluted vasopressin (1:60) into the myometrium around and into the rupture site, and an intramuscular injection of 0.2 mg methylergonovine, primary repair of the defect, and an additional 24‐h postoperative oxytocin infusion (30 IU in 5% dextrose 500 mL) to preserve the uterus successfully. Although the overall blood loss was 3700 mL, no disseminated intravascular coagulopathy occurred after the patient had received adequate blood transfusion. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was placenta percreta with uterine rupture. The patient and her baby were discharged uneventfully. In some cases of spontaneous uterine rupture secondary to placenta percreta, we can preserve the uterus by performing bilateral uterine vessel occlusion and wedge resection of the ruptured uterine wall.
The role of ethnicity on pain perception in labor among parturients at the university college hospital Ibadan
Authors: Olayemi Oladapo , Morhason‐Bello Imran O. , Adedokun Babatunde O. , Ojengbede Oladosu A. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAims:  In developing countries, the major mechanism by which parturients cope with labor pain is psychological. This study aims to assess the effect of ethnicity on the perception of pain by parturients in labor at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.Materials and Methods:  The study was conducted between the 1 November 2006 and the 30 March 2007 at the University College Hospital Ibadan. The main outcome measure was pain perception assessed by the Box Numerical Scale (BNS). Univariate analysis was by t‐test for continuous variables and χ2 test for categorical variables. The multiple linear regression method was utilized for multivariate analysis. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.Results:  The lowest adjusted mean BNS score was found in the Yoruba ethnic group: they had scores lower than the mean scores for the other ethnic groups (−0.636 [95% confidence interval (CI) −0.959, −0.313]). The presence of a doula also reduced the mean BNS scores significantly (−0.533 [95% CI −0.844, −0.222]. Increasing parity also reduced pain scores (−0.182 [95% CI −0.342, −0.022]). Increasing educational attainment increased pain scores in labor (0.189 [95% CI 0.017, 0.361]). The influence of increasing age was not statistically significant in this model.In conclusion, ethnicity of the parturient relative to that of the predominant ethnicity in the place of birth has a significant effect on the perception of labor pain by the parturient. In our resource‐challenged environment, trained doulas may help make labor less painful for the parturient.
Lidocaine 10% spray reduces pain during hysterosalpingography: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Karasahin Emre , Alanbay Ibrahim , Keskin Ugur , Gezginc Kazim , Baser Iskender 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAim:  The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the use of lidocaine 10% spray was effective in pain control during hysterosalpingography (HSG).Methods:  A total of 81 patients were randomly assigned to three groups: Group 1, 10 mg lidocaine hydrochloride 10% spray; Group 2, 20 mg lidocaine hydrochloride 10% spray; and Group 3, Placebo. We used a standard 10 cm Visual Analog Scale for pain scoring. The ‘0 cm’ end corresponded to ‘no pain’, and the ‘10 cm’ end represented the ‘worst pain ever’. We asked the patients to mark their pre‐HSG pain expectancies initially, then to mark their pain during uterine traction after the tenaculum has been applied. Finally, they were asked to mark their pain during contrast medium injection.Results:  In Group1, the mean anticipated pain (AP) score was 64.51 ± 12.62, the mean pain (MP) score during cervical traction with uterine tenaculum was 57.48 ± 11.32 (P: 0.011), and the MP score during contrast medium injection was 46.22 ± 13.00 (P: 0.005). In Group 2 the mean AP score was 66.44 ± 12.02, the MP score during cervical traction with uterine tenaculum was 48.03 ± 13.44 (P: 0.001), and the MP during contrast medium injection was 46.25 ± 11.57 (P: 0.001). In Group 3 the mean AP score was 61.8 ± 18.5, the MP score during cervical traction with uterine tenaculum was 59.5 (P: 0.07), and the MP during contrast medium injection was 57.5 ± 14.5) (P: 0.304).Conclusion:  Topical lidocaine spray is a practical and effective analgesic for decreasing pain perception scores during the HSG procedure. A 10 mg dose is comparable to a 20 mg dose in pain reduction with less chance of side effects and better cost‐effectiveness.
Follow‐up assessment of excluded oocyte donor candidates
Authors: Zweifel Julianne E. , Biaggio Brittany , Schouweiler Calissa , Lindheim Steven R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAim:  In 2005 16,161 fresh and frozen egg donation embryo transfer cycles were performed in the USA. Use of egg donation continues to increase and, as such, the number of women who apply to be egg donors will also increase. Up to 44% of women who apply to be egg donors will ultimately be rejected. We suggest that women pursuing egg donation may not anticipate that they may be excluded from the program. Further, we suggest that many of them are unprepared to receive the information that they have been rejected from an egg donor program based on either medical or psychological grounds. In this brief report, we share our clinical experiences with women who were rejected from our egg donation program. We suggest that egg donation programs have an ethical obligation to follow up with women they have rejected from their program.Methods and Results:  This paper reports on the experiences of the excluded donors from our clinic and reveals that being excluded creates a negative emotional impact which can include disappointment, fear, anger, and sadness. For most excluded donors this reaction is short‐term but for some it is more long‐lasting and more seriously upsetting.Conclusions:  The scope of this paper is limited in that it reports on clinical experiences rather than results of a controlled study. This paper suggests that researchers and clinicians have an ethical obligation to follow up with rejected donors to assess and address the emotional impact of being excluded from a donor program.
Toll‐like receptors and pregnancy: Trophoblast as modulators of the immune response
Authors: Koga Kaori , Aldo Paulomi B. , Mor Gil 
Published: March 2009

AbstractDuring normal pregnancy, the decidua is populated by a variety of leucocytes; however, cells of the innate immune system seem to dominate this tissue. Their presence suggests that the innate immune system is not indifferent to the fetus and has been associated with a response of the maternal immune system to the ‘semi‐allograft’ fetus. New evidences, however, indicate that these immune cells are critical for decidual and trophoblast development rather than induction of tolerance. We hypothesized that during implantation, an inflammatory environment is necessary for the attachment and invasion of the blastocyst. The existence of an ‘inflammatory‐mediated embryo implantation’ condition is dependent on the proper ‘education’ of the innate immune system which we propose is mediated by the trophoblast. Here we postulate that trophoblast cells successfully orchestrate their inflammatory environment and regulate immune cells differentiation and activation through Toll‐like receptors (TLR). We will describe potential functions of TLR in trophoblast cells, their recognition and response to microorganisms, and their involvement in innate immunity.
Prospects for tropical forest biodiversity in a human‐modified world
Authors: Gardner Toby A. , Barlow Jos , Chazdon Robin , Ewers Robert M. , Harvey Celia A. , Peres Carlos A. , Sodhi Navjot S. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe future of tropical forest biodiversity depends more than ever on the effective management of human‐modified landscapes, presenting a daunting challenge to conservation practitioners and land use managers. We provide a critical synthesis of the scientific insights that guide our understanding of patterns and processes underpinning forest biodiversity in the human‐modified tropics, and present a conceptual framework that integrates a broad range of social and ecological factors that define and contextualize the possible future of tropical forest species. A growing body of research demonstrates that spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity are the dynamic product of interacting historical and contemporary human and ecological processes. These processes vary radically in their relative importance within and among regions, and have effects that may take years to become fully manifest. Interpreting biodiversity research findings is frequently made difficult by constrained study designs, low congruence in species responses to disturbance, shifting baselines and an over‐dependence on comparative inferences from a small number of well studied localities. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the potential prospects for biodiversity conservation can be explained by regional differences in biotic vulnerability and anthropogenic legacies, an ever‐tighter coupling of human‐ecological systems and the influence of global environmental change. These differences provide both challenges and opportunities for biodiversity conservation. Building upon our synthesis we outline a simple adaptive‐landscape planning framework that can help guide a new research agenda to enhance biodiversity conservation prospects in the human‐modified tropics.
Functional and structural response of the methanogenic microbial community in rice field soil to temperature change
Authors: Conrad Ralf , Klose Melanie , Noll Matthias 
Published: March 2009

SummaryThe microbial community in anoxic rice field soil produces CH4 over a wide temperature range up to 55°C. However, at temperatures higher than about 40°C, the methanogenic path changes from CH4 production by hydrogenotrophic plus acetoclastic methanogenesis to exclusively hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis and simultaneously, the methanogenic community consisting of Methanosarcinaceae, Methanoseataceae, Methanomicrobiales, Methanobacteriales and Rice Cluster I (RC‐1) changes to almost complete dominance of RC‐1. We studied changes in structure and function of the methanogenic community with temperature to see whether microbial members of the community were lost or their function impaired by exposure to high temperature. We characterized the function of the community by the path of CH4 production measuring δ13C in CH4 and CO2 and calculating the apparent fractionation factor (αapp) and the structure of the community by analysis of the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T‐RFLP) of the microbial 16S rRNA genes. Shift of the temperature from 45°C to 35°C resulted in a corresponding shift of function and structure, especially when some 35°C soil was added to the 45°C soil. The bacterial community (T‐RFLP patterns), which was much more diverse than the archaeal community, changed in a similar manner upon temperature shift. Incubation of a mixture of 35°C and 50°C pre‐incubated methanogenic rice field soil at different temperatures resulted in functionally and structurally well‐defined communities. Although function changed from a mixture of acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis to exclusively hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis over a rather narrow temperature range of 42–46°C, each of these temperatures also resulted in only one characteristic function and structure. Our study showed that temperature conditions defined structure and function of the methanogenic microbial community.
Isolation and physiological characterization of two novel, piezophilic, thermophilic chemolithoautotrophs from a deep‐sea hydrothermal vent chimney
Authors: Takai Ken , Miyazaki Masayuki , Hirayama Hisako , Nakagawa Satoshi , Querellou Joël , Godfroy Anne 
Published: March 2009

SummaryTwo novel, thermophilic piezophiles, capable of chemolithoautotrophic growth, are successfully cultivated and isolated from a black smoker chimney at the TAG field (Mid Atlantic Ridge: MAR) by using a piezophilic cultivation technique. Both strains (strains 106 and 108) represent dominant cultivated populations of the microbial communities in the chimney surface habitat. Strain 106 represents typically thin, long spiral cells under the piezophilic growth condition but short bent cells under the non‐piezophilic condition. It is a strictly chemolithoautotrophic gammaproteobacterium using reduced sulfur compounds as the electron donors, and nitrate and O2 as the electron acceptors. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence, strain 106 would represent a novel genus of the previously uncultivated group (Symbiont Group I; a potentially novel family) within the Gammaproteobacteria, and ‘Thioprofundum lithotrophica’ gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. Strain 108 is a short, oval rod at any of the growth pressures. It is a facultative chemoautotroph, capable of both chemolithoautotrophic growth with H2 and S oxidations and organotrophic growth with complex organics or organic acids using nitrate and O2 as the electron acceptors. The chemolithoautotrophic growth is strictly piezophilic and under the organotrophic growth condition, it grows at conventional pressures (0.1 MPa). Strain 108 is phylogenetically distinctive from any of the previously described genera of the family Rhodobacteraceae within the Alphaproteobacteria, and ‘Piezobacter thermophilus’ gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The piezophilic cultivation technique can be a powerful tool to isolate and characterize the previously uncultivated phylotypes in the deep‐sea hydrothermal vent environments.
On Crop Biodiversity, Risk Exposure, and Food Security in the Highlands of Ethiopia
Authors: Di Falco Salvatore , Chavas Jean‐Paul 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis paper investigates the effects of crop genetic diversity on farm productivity and production risk in the highlands of Ethiopia. Using a moment‐based approach, the analysis uses a stochastic production function capturing mean, variance, and skewness effects. Welfare implications of diversity are evaluated using a certainty equivalent, measured as expected income minus a risk premium (reflecting the cost of risk). We find that the effect of diversity on skewness dominates its effect on variance, meaning that diversity reduces the cost of risk. The analysis also shows that the beneficial effects of diversity become of greater value in degraded land.
Scale Economies and Inefficiency of U.S. Dairy Farms
Authors: Mosheim Roberto , Lovell C.A. Knox 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis study employs data drawn from the 2000 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, a U.S. Department of Agriculture‐sponsored farmers’ survey. The article estimates returns to scale relationships across dairy farms of different sizes and across different regions, incorporating variables hypothesized to influence farm performance. Results point to significant scale economies in U.S. dairy farms and underscore the importance of taking account of inefficiency when estimating scale economies. Contrary to previous research, the preferred cost function specification does not show a region of decreasing returns to scale. This finding helps explain why the average size of dairy farms has been increasing.
Measuring Excess Capital Capacity in Agricultural Production
Authors: Guan Zhengfei , Kumbhakar Subal C. , Myers Robert J. , Lansink Alfons Oude 
Published: March 2009

AbstractWe introduce the concept “excess capital capacity” and employ a stochastic input requirement frontier to measure excess capital capacity in agricultural production. We also propose a two‐step estimation method that allows endogenous regressors in stochastic frontier models. The first step uses generalized method of moments to get consistent estimates of the frontier parameters in the presence of endogenous regressors. The second step uses maximum likelihood to measure excess capital capacity and evaluate the factors that influence it. The empirical application to Dutch cash crop farms found varying degrees of excess capital capacity. The policy implications of excess capital capacity are discussed.
On the Deadweight Cost of Production Requirements for Geographically Differentiated Agricultural Products
Authors: Mérel Pierre R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis article investigates the welfare effects of alternate producer collusion schemes in a context where collusion is authorized in order to cover fixed costs. Using a linear equilibrium displacement model, we find evidence that, when the producer group is allowed to control quota levels, an input quota policy entails a smaller absolute deadweight loss than an output quota policy. This finding suggests that if producer groups are allowed to resort to production‐distorting instruments to limit output, they will make production choices that are less costly for society than if they had been allowed to directly control output levels.
The Economics of a Blend Mandate for Biofuels
Authors: de Gorter Harry , Just David R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractA biofuel blend mandate may increase or decrease consumer fuel prices with endogenous oil prices, depending on relative supply elasticities. Biofuel tax credits always reduce fuel prices. Tax credits result in lower fuel prices than under a mandate for the same level of biofuel production. If tax credits are implemented alongside mandates, then tax credits subsidize fuel consumption instead of biofuels. This contradicts energy policy goals by increasing oil dependency, CO2 emissions, and traffic congestion, while providing little benefit to either corn or ethanol producers. These social costs will be substantial with tax credits costing taxpayers $28.7 billion annually by 2022.