bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Maternal Temperature Elevation and Occiput Posterior Position at Birth Among Low‐Risk Women Receiving Epidural Analgesia
Authors: Osborne Cara , Ecker Jeffrey L. , Gauvreau Kimberlee , Davidson Karen M. , Lieberman Ellice 
Published: November 2011

Introduction: To evaluate the relationship between maternal temperature elevation and occiput posterior position at birth as well as the association of fetal head position and temperature elevation on method of birth among women receiving epidural analgesia.Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Fetal Orientation during Childbirth by Ultrasound Study (FOCUS), which used serial ultrasounds to evaluate the effect of epidural anesthesia on fetal position at birth in low‐risk women. The current analysis was limited to the 1428 study participants who received epidural analgesia.Results: In our population, 47% (n = 669) of women had a maximum intrapartum temperature greater than or equal to 99.6°F (37.6°C). The prevalence of fetal occiput posterior position at admission did not differ between women who later developed temperature elevations (24.4%) and those who did not (23.6%, P= .70). Women who developed an elevated temperature greater than or equal to 99.6°F (37.6°C) had an increased risk of occiput posterior fetal head position at birth regardless of the amount of temperature elevation (odds ratio [OR]= 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5‐2.8); the association persisted after control for potentially confounding factors (adjusted OR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1‐2.1). The cesarean birth rate among women with both temperature elevation and occiput posterior position at birth was more than 12 times the rate of women with neither risk factor (adjusted OR = 12.6; 95% CI, 7.5‐21.2).Discussion: Intrapartum temperature elevation among women receiving epidural analgesia, even if only to 99.6°F (37.6°C), is associated with approximately a 2‐fold increase in the occurrence of occiput posterior fetal head position at birth. Additionally, although this observational study cannot establish causal links, our findings suggest that the relationship between epidural‐related intrapartum temperature elevation and occiput posterior position at birth could contribute to an increased cesarean birth rate among women receiving epidural analgesia for pain relief in labor.
A Girl Thing: Perceptions Concerning the Word “Hymen” Among Young Swedish Women and Men
Authors: Christianson Monica , Eriksson Carola 
Published: November 2011

Introduction: This study investigated, from a gender perspective, perceptions concerning the word “hymen” among students in a Swedish senior high school. Methods: Students answered an open‐ended question: What do you think about when you hear the word hymen? The answers were analyzed by using content analysis. Results: In total, 198 students, aged 17 to 18 years, answered the question. The theme “a fragile biological structure in the female body” described how the vast majority of the girls and 57% of the boys associated the hymen with a thin membrane that breaks during first vaginal intercourse. The theme “a symbol and manifestation of feminine virginity” described the symbolic meanings of having or not having a hymen. The theme “questioning the existence of the hymen” revealed the doubts that some had about its existence. Discussion: Most of the students associated the hymen with a breakable membrane. This is problematic. It may lead to misunderstandings about virginity or about bleeding during sexual intercourse. Changing these views about the hymen is important to correct such misunderstanding but may be a significant challenge. In modern medical discourse, in health care, and in popular speech, there are few discussions about the hymen as a social construct, indicating that more gender research concerning hymen‐related issues is needed.
Defining Male Support During and After Pregnancy From the Perspective of HIV‐Positive and HIV‐Negative Women in Durban, South Africa
Authors: Maman Suzanne , Moodley Dhayendre , Groves Allison K. 
Published: November 2011

Introduction: Greater male support during pregnancy and in the postpartum period may improve health outcomes for mothers and children. To develop effective strategies to engage men, we need to first understand the ways that men are currently engaged and the barriers to their greater involvement. Methods: We conducted in‐depth interviews in isiZulu with 30 HIV‐positive women and 16 HIV‐negative women who received prenatal care from a public clinic in Durban, South Africa. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, translated, and coded for analysis. Results: Although less than a quarter of women reported that their partners accompanied them to the clinic, they described receiving other material and psychosocial support from partners. More HIV‐positive women reported that their partners were not involved or not supportive, and in some cases direct threats and experiences with violence caused them to fear partner involvement. Discussion: We need to broaden the lens through which we consider male support during pregnancy and in the postpartum period and acknowledge that male involvement may not always be in the best interest of women. Engaging supportive partners outside of the clinic setting and incorporating other important social network members are important next steps in the effort to increase support for women.
Validation of an Online Data Registry for Midwifery Practices: A Pilot Project
Authors: Stapleton Susan Rutledge 
Published: November 2011

Introduction: The value of a data registry for research, benchmarking, and quality improvement activities depends on the underlying quality of the data. This pilot study was conducted to design and implement a validation process assessing data quality in the American Association of Birth Centers’ online data registry, the Uniform Data Set (UDS).Methods: Site visits were conducted in 5 midwifery practices attending births in freestanding birth centers and hospitals to compare data from health records with data in the registry. Practices meeting the inclusion criteria and representative of the overall population of midwifery practices contributing data to the UDS were audited. Between 2% and 5% of each practice's total UDS records were randomly selected and then compared with their matched health records for 29 key variables from the 189 variables in the UDS.Results: A total of 3966 variables were reviewed for 152 records. There were 126 records for which complete maternity care was provided; thus, all 4 parts of the UDS were expected. There were 26 records for women who left care during pregnancy; thus, only parts 1 and 2 of the UDS were expected. Quality of the UDS data was evaluated, with the health records serving as the criterion standard, and the 2 sources were found to be consistent for 97.1% of the variables.Discussion: Results from the study suggest that the data registry can provide valid data for use in research describing the process and outcomes of midwifery care and for benchmarking and quality improvement activities.
Differences in Women's Psychological Well‐being Based on Infertility Treatment Choice and Outcome
Authors: McCarthy M. Patrice , Chiu Sheau‐Huey 
Published: November 2011

Introduction: The empirical foundation regarding women's experiences with infertility is influenced by the use of clinically based populations of women who are seeking medical assistance to conceive. Although the experience of infertility and involuntary childlessness is recognized as a significant life stressor characterized by a loss of control, bodily integrity, and identity, little is understood about women who perceive an infertility problem but do not seek treatment.Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted by using a national probability sample from the National Survey of Fertility Barriers. Women (N = 142) who self‐reported perceptions of fertility problems were placed in 1 of 3 groups based on the decision to seek/not seek treatment and treatment outcome.Results: When we controlled for marital status, women who conceived with medical assistance reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and held parenting as more important than women who sought treatment and did not conceive and women who did not seek treatment.Discussion: Women who did not seek treatment for perceived infertility problems reported a decreased sense of the importance of parenthood but also reported lower levels of self‐esteem and life satisfaction than women who sought treatment, regardless of treatment outcome.
Sexual Function and Quality of Life for Women with Mild‐to‐Moderate Stress Urinary Incontinence
Authors: Liebergall‐Wischnitzer Michal , Paltiel Ora , Hochner‐Celnikier Drorit , Lavy Yuval , Manor Orly , Woloski Wruble Anna Carol 
Published: November 2011

Introduction: Sexual function is affected by stress urinary incontinence with or without pelvic organ prolapse. The aim of the study was to describe the sexual function of women with mild‐to‐moderate stress urinary incontinence, with or without pelvic organ prolapse (up to stage 2) and examine correlations with symptoms and quality of life. This investigation was part of a large, randomized, clinical trial of women with stress urinary incontinence who participated in an exercise intervention.Methods: Women included in the study suffered from stress urinary incontinence as measured by a pad test and were interested in an exercise intervention. All participants underwent assessment for prolapse staging. Instruments included: the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ‐12), Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire (I‐QOL), and a health and urinary leakage questionnaire.Results: One hundred and eighty‐seven ambulatory women, aged 20 to 65 years, had a mean sexual function score of 36.9 (standard deviation [SD] 5.9). No significant correlation was found between the sexual function scores and quantity of urinary leakage. A significant correlation existed between the sexual function and I‐QOL scores (P < .001). An additional finding was that women with urgency symptoms were older (P= .04) and had significantly lower sexual function scores (mean 35.7; SD 6.4) than those who did not report urgency (mean 38.7; SD 4.6; P < .001).Discussion: Women with mild‐to‐moderate stress urinary incontinence, without or with lower stages of pelvic organ prolapse, demonstrated good sexual function, which correlated with physical and psychosocial factors. Health professionals need to perform multifaceted intake assessments on women with urinary leakage to customize their health promotion regimen.
Quantifying the structure of food demand in China: An econometric approach
Authors: Hovhannisyan Vardges , Gould Brian W. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractThis article examines food demand structure and its dynamics for 11 commodities in urban China. The analysis is based on household‐level expenditure survey data for two cross‐sectional surveys of Chinese households pertaining to food expenditure patterns during 1995 and 2003. Pre‐committed components of commodity demands, that are insensitive to economic variables, are explored.We use the generalized quadratic almost ideal demand system (GQAIDS) for its empirical superiority to the generalized almost ideal demand system (GAIDS), and estimate the associated parameters via full information maximum likelihood procedure (FIML) accounting for endogeneity of total expenditures on food for home consumption (FAH). We also use quality‐adjusted commodity unit values to control for quality differences resulting from commodity aggregation and food choice. Furthermore, we derive GQAIDS elasticity formulas, and estimate income elasticities without restrictions.The results partially support the hypothesis that an average Chinese household has incorporated elements of Western diet (fine grains) into traditional Chinese food diet over time. Moreover, the outcome of a simple test developed here points to possible preference changes for a majority of food staples under study.
Distress rentals and the land rental market as a safety net: contract choice evidence from Tigray, Ethiopia
Authors: Gebregziabher Gebrehaweria , Holden Stein T. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractRural households in the semiarid Northern Ethiopian highlands are net buyers of food. Crop failure due to erratic and unpredictable rainfall occurs frequently and leads to food shortages and income shocks. The renting out of land may be one of the coping responses of households exposed to shocks. We developed a theoretical household model for poor landlord households capturing their contract choice response to downside production shocks. We tested econometrically whether contract choice may depend on poverty, capital constraints, production risk and random shocks. The multinomial logit model estimates show that poor households experiencing random shocks are more likely to choose fixed‐rent contracts as a distress response to shocks, suggesting that fixed‐rent contracts may be used to meet immediate needs, but at the expense of future incomes. We also found that fixed‐rent contracts are preferred when ex ante production risk is low, while sharecropping is more likely where production risk is high. Finally, we found an indication that the choice of a fixed‐rent contract as a coping response to shocks comes as a last resort after all other means of coping are exhausted.
Impact of copula choice on the modeling of crop yield basis risk
Authors: Woodard Joshua D. , Paulson Nicholas D. , Vedenov Dmitry , Power Gabriel J. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractA number of problems in agricultural economics involve modeling joint distributions for which the assumption of multivariate normality may not be warranted. Yet, very little work has been conducted evaluating competing methods for modeling joint dependence. We develop a simulation framework to evaluate the bias and efficiency impacts of copula choice in the context of evaluating county‐to‐farm basis risk. The results suggest significant differences in performance across various copulas and approaches. The findings have important implications for risk analysis, insurance, and policy modeling problems in agriculture regarding the selection of method to model dependence among random variables.
Measuring the cost of liquidity in agricultural futures markets: Conventional and Bayesian approaches
Authors: Frank Julieta , Garcia Philip 
Published: November 2011

AbstractEstimating the cost of liquidity in agricultural futures markets is challenging because bid‐ask spreads are usually not observed. Based on an ability to reflect simulated data from Roll's spread model, we assess the effectiveness of conventional and Bayesian bid‐ask spread estimators under different market conditions. Conventional serial covariance and absolute price change spread estimators appear to be biased. Hasbrouck's Bayesian estimator generates small costs of liquidity whose values depend on the correlation and noise in the data. The absolute value Bayesian estimator is precise and works well under conditions of high levels of noise and correlation usually found in agricultural futures markets. Using data from live cattle (LC) and lean hog (LH) contracts, we find similar patterns of performance that produce economically meaningful cost of liquidity differences.
IL1 gene polymorphisms and unsuccessful dental implants
Authors: Vaz P. , Gallas M. M. , Braga A. C. , Sampaio‐Fernandes J. C. , Felino A. , Tavares P. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractObjectivesThis study aimed to analyse the association between polymorphisms in the IL1 gene cluster and failure of dental implants in a Portuguese population.Material and methodsA total of 155 Caucasian Portuguese subjects were divided into two groups: 100 with successful dental implants and 55 with unsuccessful dental implants. DNA was obtained through an oral mucosa scraping. PCR was used to identify the polymorphisms: single nucleotide changes in positions −889 of IL1A gene and +3953 of IL1B gene.ResultsThe prevalence of the polymorphisms −889IL1A gene and +3953IL1B gene, determined by the positive result of TGP (Genetic Test for Periodontitis; CGC, Genetics, Portugal), in the studied population rehabilitated with dental implants was of 33.50%. Allele 1 of the IL1B gene was the most prevalent (62.20%), followed by allele 1 of the IL1A gene (54.80%) and the least frequent was allele 2 of IL1B gene (37.40%). Success of dental implants was mainly associated with a negative TGP result, whereas no success was found to be related to a positive result. There were no statistically significant differences between the alleles 1 and 2 of the genes IL1A and IL1B and the tobacco and alcohol consumption for the success or no success of the dental implants.ConclusionsThe alleles 1 and 2 of IL1A gene and the alleles 1 and 2 of IL1B gene were statistically associated with the success or no success of the dental implants. Tobacco habit and alcohol consumption showed no statistically significant association with success or no success of the dental implants.
Transport mechanisms of flavanone aglycones across Caco-2 cell monolayers and artificial PAMPA membranes
Authors: Kobayashi Shoko , Nagai Toshitada , Konishi Yutaka , Tanabe Soichi , Morimoto Kaori , Ogihara Takuo 
Published: November 2011

Abstract

Objectives
We recently reported that flavanone aglycones (hesperetin, naringenin and eriodictyol) are efficiently absorbed via proton-coupled active transport, in addition to transcellular passive diffusion, in Caco-2 cells. Here, we aimed to evaluate in detail the absorption mechanisms of these flavanones, as well as homoeriodictyol and sakuranetin.

Methods
We evaluated the absorption mechanisms of the above compounds by means of in vitro studies in Caco-2 cells in parallel with an artificial membrane permeation assay (PAMPA) under pH-gradient and iso-pH conditions.

Key findings
Comparison of the permeability characteristics of flavanones in Caco-2 cells and in PAMPA under these conditions, as well as a consideration of the physicochemical properties, indicated that hesperetin, naringenin, eriodictyol and homoeriodictyol were efficiently transported by passive diffusion according to the pH-partition hypothesis, except in the case of sakuranetin. However, transport of all flavanones were remarkably temperature-dependent, and was significantly reduced when Caco-2 cells were treated with amino acid-modifying reagents.

Conclusions
Our data confirm that both passive diffusion and an active transport mechanism contribute to flavanone absorption through human intestinal epithelium.
Continuity from an implicit to an explicit understanding of false belief from infancy to preschool age
Authors: Thoermer Claudia , Sodian Beate , Vuori Maria , Perst Hannah , Kristen Susanne 
Published: November 2011

An implicit understanding of false belief indicated by anticipatory looking has been shown to be significantly correlated with performance on explicit false‐belief tasks in 3‐ and 4‐year‐old children (Low, 2010). Recent evidence from infant research indicates, however, that implicit false‐belief understanding guides infants’ expectations about goal‐directed actions even in the second year of life. The present study presents data from a sample of N= 70 infants who were tested longitudinally at 15, 18, 30, 36 and 48 months with implicit and explicit Theory of Mind measures, as well as an assessment of verbal IQ. Belief‐based anticipatory looking in the false‐belief task at 18 months significantly predicted verbal false‐belief reasoning at 48 months, after controlling for verbal IQ. These findings indicate developmental continuity and conceptual specificity in belief reasoning from infancy to preschool age. They are discussed with respect to competing accounts of infants’ understanding of the mind.
Companding technique for high dynamic range measurements using Gafchromic films
Authors: Van den Heuvel Frank , Crijns Wouter , Defraene Gilles 
Published: November 2011

Purpose:To introduce a methodology to perform dose measurements using Gafchromic films which can span several decades of dose levels.Methods:The technique is based on a rescaling approach using different films irradiated at different dose levels. This is combined with a registration protocol correcting positioning and scaling factors for each film. The methodology is validated using TLD's for out‐of‐field doses. Furthermore, two examples are provided using the technique to characterize small sized radiosurgery cones and compared with measurements made with a pinpoint chamber.Results:Excellent agreement with TLD, planning systems and measurement was found. The superior resolution of the film technique was apparent.Conclusions:The authors have introduced a new technique allowing users to quantify very low doses in conjunction with commissioning measurements. The use of film also provides 2D information on beam characteristics in high resolution measurements.
Long-Term Antibody and Immune Memory Response Induced by Pulmonary Delivery of the Influenza Iscomatrix Vaccine
Authors: Vujanic Ana , Snibson Kenneth J. , Wee Janet L. K. , Edwards Stirling J. , Pearse Martin J. , Scheerlinck Jean-Pierre Y. , Sutton Philip 
Published: November 2011

ABSTRACT
Pulmonary delivery of an influenza Iscomatrix adjuvant vaccine induces a strong systemic and mucosal antibody response. Since an influenza vaccine needs to induce immunological memory that lasts at least 1 year for utility in humans, we examined the longevity of the immune response induced by such a pulmonary vaccination, with and without antigen challenge. Sheep were vaccinated in the deep lung with an influenza Iscomatrix vaccine, and serum and lung antibody levels were quantified for up to 1 year. The immune memory response to these vaccinations was determined following antigen challenge via lung delivery of influenza antigen at 6 months and 1 year postvaccination. Pulmonary vaccination of sheep with the influenza Iscomatrix vaccine induced antigen-specific antibodies in both sera and lungs that were detectable until 6 months postimmunization. Importantly, a memory recall response following antigenic challenge was detected at 12 months post-lung vaccination, including the induction of functional antibodies with hemagglutination inhibition activity. Pulmonary delivery of an influenza Iscomatrix vaccine induces a long-lived influenza virus-specific antibody and memory response of suitable length for annual vaccination against influenza.