bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Natural course of long-term postherniorrhaphy pain in a population-based cohort
Authors: Sandblom Gabriel , Kalliomäki Maija-Liisa , Gunnarsson Ulf , Gordh Torsten 
Published: December 2009

Abstract

Background
Persistent pain after hernia repair is widely recognised as a considerable problem, although the natural course of postoperative pain is not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to explore the natural course of persistent pain after hernia repair in a population-based cohort and identify risk factors for prolonged pain duration.

Methods
The study cohort was assembled from the Swedish Hernia Register (SHR), which has compiled detailed information on more than 140 000 groin hernia repairs since 1992. All patients operated on for groin hernia in the County of Uppsala, Sweden, 1998–2004 were identified in the SHR. Those who were still alive in 2005 received the Inguinal Pain Questionnaire, a validated questionnaire with 18 items developed with the aim of assessing postherniorrhaphy pain, by mail. Reminders were sent to non-responders 5 months after the first mail. The halving time was estimated from a linear regression of the logarithmic transformation of the prevalence of pain each year after surgery. A multivariate analysis with pain persisting more than 1 month with a retrospective question regarding time to pain cessation as dependent variable was performed.

Results
Altogether 2834 repairs in 2583 patients were recorded, 162 of who had died until 2005. Of the remaining patients, 1763 (68%) responded to the questionnaire. In 6.7 years the prevalence of persistent pain had decreased by half for the item “pain right now” and in 6.8 years for the item “worst pain last week”. The corresponding figures if laparoscopic repair was excluded were 6.4 years for “pain right now” and 6.4 years for “worst pain past week”. In a multivariate analysis, low age, postoperative complication and open method of repair were found to predict an increased risk for pain persistence exceeding 1 month.

Conclusion
Persistent postoperative pain is a common problem following hernia surgery, although it often recedes with time. It is more protracted in young patients, following open repair and after repairs with postoperative complications. Whereas efforts to treat persistent postoperative pain, in particular neuropathic pain, are often fruitless, this group can at least rely on the hope that the pain, for some of the patients, gradually decreases with time. On the other hand, 14% still reported a pain problem 7 years after hernia surgery. We do not know the course after that.
Although no mathematical model can provide a full understanding of such a complex process as the natural course of postoperative pain, assuming an exponential course may help to analyse the course the first years after surgery, enable comparisons with other studies and give a base for exploring factors that influence the duration of the postoperative pain. Halving times close to those found in our study could also be extrapolated from other studies, assuming an exponential course.
Fibroepithelial polyp of the tonsil: case report of a rare, benign tonsillar lesion
Authors: Farboud A , Trinidade A , Harris M , Pfleiderer A 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjective:We report the case of a man presenting with a tonsillar mass causing difficult breathing, snoring and disturbed sleep.Method:Case report.Results:The patient was found to have a fibroepithelial polyp of the left tonsil.Conclusion:To our knowledge, this is the first case of its type to be presented in the English-language literature. The case is presented and the tumour and its management are discussed.
Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis with skull base and orbital erosion
Authors: Marfani M S , Jawaid M A , Shaikh S M , Thaheem K 
Published: December 2009

AbstractIntroduction:Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis is a benign, noninvasive sinus disease related to hypersensitivity to fungal infection having bony skull base and orbital erosion as common finding.Patients and method:This descriptive study was conducted at the department of otorhinolaryngology, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan, from April 2003 to March 2006. In forty-seven proven cases of allergic fungal sinusitis the following information was recorded: demographic data, signs and symptoms, laboratory investigation results, imaging results, pre- and post-operative medical treatment, surgery performed, follow up, and residual or recurrent disease. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 10.0 software was used for data analysis.Results:Findings indicated that allergic fungal rhinosinusitis usually occurred in the second decade of life (51.06 per cent) in males (70.21 per cent), allergic rhinitis (100 per cent) and nasal polyposis (100 per cent). Nasal obstruction (100 per cent), nasal discharge (89.36 per cent), postnasal drip (89.36 per cent), and unilateral nasal and paranasal sinus involvement (59.57 per cent) were significant features. Aspergillus (59.57 per cent) was the most common aetiological agent. Combined orbital and skull base erosion was seen in 30.04 per cent of cases, with male preponderance 6.8:1. Endoscopic sinus surgery was performed in all cases, and recurrent or residual disease was observed in 19.14 per cent.Conclusion:Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis is a disease of young, immunocompetent individual. Skull base and orbital erosion are seen in one-third of cases. Bone erosion is 6.8 times more common in males than females. Orbital erosion is 1.5 times more common than skull base erosion. Endoscopic surgical debridement and drainage combined with topical steroids leads to resolution of disease in the majority of cases, without resorting to systemic antifungal agents, craniotomy or dural resection.
Review of temporal bone dissection teaching: how it was, is and will be
Authors: George A P , De R 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjective:We aimed to review the history of anatomical dissection, and to examine how modern educational techniques will change the way temporal bone dissection is taught to otolaryngology trainees.Method:Review of the literature using Medline, Embase and PubMed database searches.Results:Temporal bone anatomy has traditionally been taught using cadaveric specimens. However, resources such as three-dimensional reconstructed models and ‘virtual reality’ temporal bone simulators have a place in educating the otolaryngology trainee.Conclusion:We should encourage the use of fresh frozen cadaveric temporal bone specimens for future otologists. Artificial three-dimensional models and virtual reality temporal bone simulators can be used to educate junior trainees, thus conserving the scarce resource of cadaveric bones.
Readability of out-patient letters copied to patients: can patients understand what is written about them?
Authors: Todhunter S L , Clamp P J , Gillett S , Pothier D D 
Published: December 2009

AbstractTheNational Health Service Planof 2000 proposed that patients should receive a copy of all correspondence regarding their care. There is concern that the readability of patients' letters may not be appropriate for many patients.Materials and methods:This study determined readability scores for sequential letters written to general practitioners and copied to patients, following ENT consultations at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. Intervention involved educating clinicians in techniques to improve readability.Results and analysis:A total of 295 letters from eight clinicians were assessed in the pre-intervention phase. The mean Flesch reading ease score was 61.8 (standard deviation 8.7) and the mean Flesch–Kincaid reading grade was 9.0 (standard deviation 1.7). Re-audit analysed a further 301 letters. There was no significant change in the readability of the letters post-intervention.Discussion:It may not be feasible to present medical information intended for general practitioners in a way that is readable to most of the UK adult population.
The Politics of Reform in Spain's Atlantic Empire during the Late Bourbon Period: TheVisitaof José García de León y Pizarro in Quito
Authors: ANDRIEN KENNETH J. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractThis article examines the political imbroglios surrounding the tenure of José García de León y Pizarro (1778–84) asvisitadorand president-regent of theAudienciaor Kingdom of Quito, in order to demonstrate the deep political divisions that emerged in Spain's Atlantic empire over the Bourbon Reforms. García Pizarro's policies strengthened the colonial state and produced a dramatic increase in crown revenues, but they also led to a groundswell of protest from local elites and even provoked the condemnation of his successors. These political struggles in Quito reveal the many competing viewpoints about the reform and renovation of Spanish Empire. The Bourbon Reforms emerged from a series of hotly contested political struggles on both sides of the Atlantic, leading to patchy and even distinctive outcomes in different regions of the empire. This political contestation also helps to explain why no coherent, commonly accepted plan for the reform of Spain's Atlantic empire ever emerged during the century.
Was It Prices, Productivity or Policy? Latin American Industrialisation after 1870
Authors: GÓMEZ-GALVARRIATO AURORA , WILLIAMSON JEFFREY G. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractThe new trade data used here document the significance of industrialisation in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico after 1870. By 1910 Brazil and Mexico, in particular, led most of the poor periphery in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. While some of this impressive industrialisation was due to fast productivity growth in manufacturing, perhaps yielding some catch-up on their competitors in the United States and Europe, this article argues that there were even more powerful forces at work. Much of the industrialisation that occurred in Latin America was due to a cessation in the seven-decade rise in its net barter terms of trade, trends that reversed the deindustrialisation and ‘Dutch Disease’ forces that had dominated Latin America for almost a century. Equally important for Brazil and Mexico was favourable policy in the form of higher effective rates of protection for manufacturing, and a depreciation of the real exchange rate. These policies were missing in Argentina and Chile, and industrialisation suffered there as a consequence. Changing market conditions and policies seem to have been more important than changing fundamentals in accounting for Latin American industrialisation after 1870.
Educational Television in El Salvador and Modernisation Theory
Authors: LINDO-FUENTES HÉCTOR 
Published: December 2009

AbstractThis article investigates the introduction of educational television in El Salvador in the late 1960s, an Alliance for Progress project, in light of the preoccupations of the Cold War, the application of modernisation theory, the growing influence of a development community grounded in the social sciences and the Salvadorean elite's particular obsession with communism. The top-down approach used by the military regime to introduce a flurry of changes in the education system was facilitated by the extensive resources provided by international aid agencies and the US government. However, the reforms alienated Salvadorean teachers and fuelled teachers' strikes that are still remembered as pivotal moments in the urban mass movements of the 1970s which preceded the civil war of the 1980s.
‘The first practical Soviet steps towards getting a foothold in the Antarctic’: the Soviet Antarctic whaling flotillaSlava
Authors: Gan Irina 
Published: December 2009

ABSTRACTAfter World War II (WWII), the USSR acquired a whaling flotilla as war reparations from the Germans. This event was the beginning of Soviet whaling in the Antarctic. It also motivated the USSR to sign the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and to use its whaling operations to exercise leverage with regard to political advantage in any future discussions on an international regime for the Antarctic.
Pacific Discourses About Cultural Heritage and Its Protection: An Introduction
Authors: van Meijl Toon 
Published: December 2009

AbstractThe articles collected in this special issue aim at addressing the debate about the protection and use of cultural heritage in the Pacific within the context of globalization. Contributions aim specifically at analyzing the tension that exists between, on the one hand, political, legal and economic discourses of Pacific peoples who wish to retain control and who seek protection of the use of their cultural heritage, and, on the other hand, the view of others arguing that it is in the interest of the general public to lift as many embargos as possible in order to stimulate research and to increase economic growth. All authors approach the subject of cultural and intellectual property rights as a discourse, with specific attention for the concepts of property and ownership, particularly in relation to cultural heritage and cultural knowledge; the potential benefits of property; appropriate protection mechanisms; the complexities of the discourses about rights, especially property rights; the appropriation of property or its misappropriation, often associated with what is freely available in the public domain; and, finally, the use of intellectual property as either a form of enclosure or as a form of ethnic boundary.
Kava Pirates in Vanuatu?
Authors: Lindstrom Lamont 
Published: December 2009

AbstractCultural property activists have worried about the bioprospecting, or even biopiracy, of kava (Piper methysticum), a plant exchanged and consumed for many Pacific social and ritual purposes. By the 1990s, kava and concoctions made from the plant's component kavalactones were increasingly popular products within global markets for recreational and medicinal drugs. Starting in 2002, however, a number of European countries among others banned kava imports after initial reports that some heavy users suffered liver damage. This has complicated the kava story as producer efforts shifted from protecting rights to the plant to reopening blocked export markets. The difficulty is to both push kava into global markets while protecting local rights to the plant. A promising strategy may be developing consumer awareness of geographic indicators and “noble” kava varieties that Vanuatu's local producers may control yet globally market as “the best in the world.”
Keeping Rong from Wrong: The Identification and Protection of Traditional Intellectual Property in Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia
Authors: Nason James D. , Peter Joakim 
Published: December 2009

AbstractThis discussion reviews the differences between traditional Micronesian principles regarding traditional knowledge, or ‘esoteric’ knowledge, and Western copyright laws, which have been used in the expropriation and legal alienation of traditional knowledge. We consider this conflict in relation to contemporary Native American intellectual property issues and tribal responses for the protection of such knowledge and to control research activities. This is compared with the recent international and Pacific Islands governments' concerns and actions regarding commodification and misappropriation of traditional knowledge, including the new Pacific Model Law. Finally, we review the nature of traditional knowledge in Chuuk State and its current status and recommend specific steps that the Federated States of Micronesia might take legislatively to protect traditional knowledge as part of its significant cultural heritage.
Intangible Cultural Property, Tangible Databases, Visible Debates:The Sawau Project
Authors: Pigliasco Guido Carlo 
Published: December 2009

AbstractIntellectual property claims have long been sustained in a way that is now under severe scrutiny. Pacific Island countries continue to face unauthorized uses of their traditional knowledge and practices. In response, international agencies in collaboration with Pacific Island countries are promoting sui generis forms of protection. The Institute of Fijian Language and Culture's Cultural Mapping Programme looks beyond ongoing debates about indigenous collection and digitization of intangible heritage to promote sui generis protection measures in lieu of western intellectual property law. Supported by an Institute grant, the unfoldingSawau Projectcreates an archive of sites, stories, and shared memories of the Sawau people of Beqa, an island iconic in Fiji for its firewalking practice (vilavilairevo). Advocating a form of social intervention in situ,The Sawau Projecthas become a collaborative tool to encourage digital documentation, linkages, and institutional collaborations among Fijian communities and their allies to negotiate and promote alternative forms of protection.
Multivitamin supplement use and risk of invasive breast cancer
Authors: Meulepas Johanna M , Newcomb Polly A , Burnett-Hartman Andrea N , Hampton John M , Trentham-Dietz Amy 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjectiveMultivitamin supplements are used by nearly half of middle-aged women in the USA. Despite this high prevalence of multivitamin use, little is known about the effects of multivitamins on health outcomes, including cancer risk. Our main objective was to determine the association between multivitamin use and the risk of breast cancer in women.DesignWe conducted a population-based case–control study among 2968 incident breast cancer cases (aged 20–69 years), diagnosed between 2004 and 2007, and 2982 control women from Wisconsin, USA. All participants completed a structured telephone interview which ascertained supplement use prior to diagnosis, demographics and risk factor information. Odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals were calculated using multivariable logistic regression.ResultsCompared with never users of multivitamins, the OR for breast cancer was 1·02 (95 % CI 0·87, 1·19) for current users and 0·99 (95 % CI 0·74, 1·33) for former users. Further, neither duration of use (for ≥10 years: OR = 1·13, 95 % CI 0·93, 1·38,Pfor trend = 0·25) nor frequency (>7 times/week: OR = 1·00, 95 % CI 0·77, 1·28,Pfor trend = 0·97) was related to risk in current users. Stratification by menopausal status, family history of breast cancer, age, alcohol, tumour staging and postmenopausal hormone use did not significantly modify the association between multivitamin use and breast cancer.ConclusionsThe current study found no association between multivitamin supplement use and breast cancer risk in women.
Changes in bone mineral density of adolescent mothers during the 12-month postpartum period
Authors: Malpeli Agustina , Mansur José L , De Santiago Soledad , Villalobos Rosa , Armanini Alicia , Apezteguía María , González Horacio F 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjectiveBone mineral density (BMD) loss has been described in adult women in the 12-month postpartum period. However, little is known about the precise BMD pattern in adolescent mothers. The present study aimed to evaluate BMD in Argentinean adolescent mothers followed up during the 12-month postpartum period.DesignAnalytical, prospective clinical trial. BMD and body composition were determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; bone mineral content (BMC) and BMD were measured in the lumbar spine (L2–L4), femoral neck (FN), femur trochanter (TR), total hip (TH) and total body. Changes in BMD and BMC were analysed using ANOVA for pairwise comparisons. Other comparisons were performed with the paired-samplettest and Wilcoxon test; Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to analyse the relationship among continuous variables.SettingLa Plata, Argentina.SubjectsAdolescent mothers (n35; 17 years old or less) were recruited within 15 d after delivery. Studies and follow-up were performed at 15 d and 3, 6 and 12 months postpartum.ResultsBMD and BMC losses at 3 and 6 months and recovery at 12 months fitted a quadratic curve (ANOVA) at the three sites studied (FN, TH, TR), in total-body BMD (P= 0·000) and BMC (P= 0·038). At hip sites, BMD loss occurred at 3 months (FN,P= 0·000; TR,P= 0·000; TH,P= 0·000) and 6 months (FN,P= 0·000; TR,P= 0·000; TH,P= 0·000) compared with basal values. Percentage BMD loss immediately after delivery up to 6 months was about 5 %.ConclusionsAdolescents showed significant BMD and BMC losses at 6 months postpartum, with an almost total recovery at 12 months in all sites studied.
Length of residence and obesity among immigrants in Spain
Authors: Gutiérrez-Fisac Juan L , Marín-Guerrero Ana , Regidor Enrique , Guallar-Castillón Pilar , Banegas Jose R , Rodríguez-Artalejo Fernando 
Published: December 2009

AbstractObjectiveVarious studies in the USA and Canada have consistently shown a positive association between length of residence of immigrants and obesity. Studies in European countries have obtained less consistent results. The present work assesses the influence of length of residence on the frequency of obesity in immigrants in the city of Madrid, Spain.DesignWe studied a sample of 7155 persons aged 18 years and over residing in the city of Madrid, who were was surveyed between November 2004 and May 2005. Information was collected on immigrant status (country of birth), length of residence in Spain, obesity, sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle.ResultsCompared with the Spanish population, the odds for obesity in the immigrant population by length of residence was less than one in all groups, becoming closer to one with increasing time of residence (OR = 0·67, 0·73 and 0·81 for immigrants with less than 2, 2–4 and 5–9 years of residence in Spain, respectively), up to 10 or more years of residence, when it declined (OR = 0·69). The magnitude of this association was considerably reduced after adjusting for sociodemographic variables and for perceived health, but was not further modified after adjusting for lifestyle variables.ConclusionsLength of residence of immigrants in the city of Madrid is not associated with the frequency of obesity. It is possible that the circumstances immigrants encounter after arriving in Spain do not involve an overexposure to factors favouring obesity, relative to those they bring with them.
Diversity and abundance of Korarchaeota in terrestrial hot springs of Iceland and Kamchatka
Authors: Reigstad Laila Johanne , Jorgensen Steffen Leth , Schleper Christa 
Published: December 2009

Abstract
Korarchaeota constitute a recently proposed and little characterized kingdom of Archaea that might have diverged before the lineages of Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota split. To assess the diversity, distribution and abundance of Korarchaeota, we analysed 19 terrestrial hot springs in Hveragerdi and Krysuvik, Iceland, and in Kamchatka, Russia. The springs were 70–97 °C with pH 2.5–6.5. Out of 19 springs, 12 tested positive for Korarchaeota with specific primers. A Korarchaeota 16S rDNA library was made from each of these. From the 301 clones sequenced, 87 unique sequences were obtained from Iceland and 33 from Kamchatka. The similarity between Kamchatkan and Icelandic 16S rDNA sequences and that of Candidatus Korarchaeum cryptofilum was ⩽93.5%. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a clear separation between sequences retrieved from terrestrial and marine habitats. Within the terrestrial sequences, four clusters could be recognized showing a geographic distribution with surprisingly low diversity. Furthermore, the abundance of Korarchaeota 16S rDNA in the 12 environmental samples was analysed using quantitative PCR (qPCR), showing that Korarchaeota represent only a minor fraction of the microbial community in hot springs; however, in some cases they constitute up to 7% of all Archaea. Taxonomic profiling of an Icelandic Korarchaeota-positive habitat revealed an Aquificales-dominated community. In fact, Aquificales were dominating or present in high numbers in all 12 positive sites. Chemical analyses of three Korarchaeota-positive hot springs showed their occurrence in variable water chemistry. Our data provide new information on Korarchaeota habitats and shed light on their abundance, diversity, distribution and coexisting organisms.