bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ribavirin therapeutic drug monitoring: why, when and how?
Authors: Stanke‐Labesque Françoise , Loustaud‐Ratti Véronique , Babany Gérard , Gagnieu Marie‐Claude , Marquet Pierre ,   The French Ribavirin Group OPTIRIB
Published: September 2009

AbstractRecent studies suggest the potential interest of ribavirin therapeutic drug monitoring to improve sustain virological response rate in hepatitis C virus‐infected patients. The present review details the pharmacokinetic properties of ribavirin, suggesting that it may be a good candidate for therapeutic drug monitoring, the different possible strategies and the analytical methods that could be employed.
Monitoring Change in Families Receiving Primary Mental Health Specialist Services: A Pragmatic Evaluation Within an Existing Service for the Under‐Fives
Authors: Pollock Jon , Horrocks Sue 
Published: September 2009

Background:  Specialist CAMHS‐based services for pre‐school age children are being introduced in the UK using different models of care. The clinical value of these new services requires assessment.Method: Over 20 months a Primary Mental Health Specialist (Under 5s) service operating in South West UK was evaluated on a variety of themes including effectiveness. Recruited clients completed questionnaires on their own well‐being (on two occasions) and their child’s behaviour (on three occasions) over the intervention period.Results:  Of the 67 carers assessed at or shortly after recruitment using the General Health Questionnaire, 55.2% were at high risk of having a clinically significant affective mental condition. Despite a trend towards improvement, neither the GHQ‐12 total score nor the proportion meeting the clinical criterion was statistically significantly reduced. The main index of child behaviour and emotional state demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the number of disturbance‐indicating behaviours over the service intervention period. The largest changes occurred between recruitment and the 4th visit. Selection bias cannot be excluded.Conclusions:  Significant changes determined over a relatively short period of intervention is consistent with an effect of service, but direct attribution demands care as no control groups were included.
The Impact of CHIP on Children's Insurance Coverage: An Analysis Using the National Survey of America's Families
Authors: Dubay Lisa , Kenney Genevieve 
Published: September 2009

Objective. To assess the impact of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) on the distribution of health insurance coverage for low‐income children.Data Source. The primary data for the study were from the 1997, 1999, and 2002 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), which includes a total sample of 62,497 children across all 3 years, supplemented with data from other data sources.Study Design. The study uses quasi‐experimental designs and tests the sensitivity of the results to using instrumental variable and difference‐in‐difference approaches. A detailed Medicaid and CHIP eligibility model was developed for this study. Balanced repeated replicate weights were used to account for the complex sample of the NSAF. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted.Principle Findings. The results varied depending on the approach utilized but indicated that the CHIP program led to significant increases in public coverage (14–20 percentage points); and declines in employer‐sponsored coverage (6–7 percentage points) and in uninsurance (7–12 percentage points). The estimated share of CHIP enrollment attributable to crowd‐out ranged from 33 to 44 percent. Smaller crowd‐out effects were found for Medicaid‐eligible children.Conclusions. Implementation of the CHIP program resulted in large increases in public coverage with estimates of crowd‐out consistent with initial projections made by the Congressional Budget Office. This paper demonstrates that public health insurance expansions can lead to substantial reductions in uninsurance without causing a large‐scale erosion of employer coverage.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Treatment of a Medicaid Population with Schizophrenia
Authors: Horvitz‐Lennon Marcela , McGuire Thomas G. , Alegria Margarita , Frank Richard G. 
Published: September 2009

Objective. To assess health care disparities among black and Latino adults with schizophrenia receiving services during the period July 1994–June 2006, and to evaluate trends in observed disparities.Data Sources. Administrative claims data from the Florida Medicaid program. Data sources included membership files (demographic information), medical claims (diagnostic, service, and expenditure information), and pharmacy claims (prescriptions used and expenditures).Study Design. We identified adults with at least two schizophrenia claims during a fiscal year. We used generalized estimating equation models to estimate disparities in spending on psychotropic drugs, psychiatric inpatient services, all mental health services, and all health services.Principal Findings. Spending on psychotropic drugs, mental health, and all health was 0.9–70 percent lower for blacks and Latinos than for whites. With the exception of blacks with substance use disorder comorbidity, minorities were less likely than whites to use psychiatric inpatient services. Psychiatric inpatient spending among users did not differ by race/ethnicity. With the exception of psychiatric inpatient utilization/spending, trend analyses showed no change or modest reductions in disparities.Conclusions. Black and Latino Medicaid recipients diagnosed with schizophrenia experience health care disparities. Some but not all disparities narrowed modestly over the study period.
Role and Involvement of Life End Information Forum Physicians in Euthanasia and Other End‐of‐Life Care Decisions in Flanders, Belgium
Authors: Van Wesemael Yanna , Cohen Joachim , Onwuteaka‐Philipsen Bregje D. , Bilsen Johan , Distelmans Wim , Deliens Luc 
Published: September 2009

Objective. To describe role and involvement of Life End Information Forum (LEIF) physicians in end‐of‐life care decisions and euthanasia in Flanders.Study Design. All 132 LEIF physicians in Belgium received a questionnaire inquiring about their activities in the past year, and their end‐of‐life care training and experience.Principal Findings. Response rate was 75 percent. Most respondents followed substantive training in end‐of‐life care. In 1 year, LEIF physicians were contacted 612 times for consultations in end‐of‐life decisions, of which 355 concerned euthanasia requests eventually resulting in 221 euthanasia cases. LEIF physicians also gave information about various end‐of‐life issues (including palliative care) to patients and colleagues.Conclusions. LEIF physicians provide a forum for information and advice for physicians and patients. A similar health service providing support to physicians for all end‐of‐life decisions could also be beneficial for countries without a euthanasia law.
The Role of Monetary and Nonmonetary Incentives on the Choice of Practice Establishment: A Stated Preference Study of Young Physicians in Germany
Authors: Günther Oliver H. , Kürstein Beate , Riedel‐Heller Steffi G. , König Hans‐Helmut 
Published: September 2009

Introduction. The study aimed to quantify the preferences of young physicians for different attributes relevant to practice establishment in Germany.Methods. Qualitative in‐depth interviews of 22 physicians were conducted to identify relevant practice attributes. Based on this information, a questionnaire was developed containing a discrete choice experiment comprised of a “best–worst scaling” (BWS) task. It was mailed to a representative sample of 14,939 young physicians who were close to making a decision regarding practice establishment. Regression analysis was used to estimate utility weights quantifying physicians' preferences for practice attributes.Results. Qualitative interviews identified six attributes: “professional cooperation,”“income,”“career opportunities of the partner,”“availability of child care,”“leisure activities,” and “on‐call duties.” For the BWS task, 5,026 returned questionnaires were analyzed. Results indicated that a change in income led to the largest utility change compared with changes in other attributes. Additional net income to compensate the disutility of a rural practice as compared with an urban practice was 9,044€/months (U.S.$ 11,938). Yet, nonmonetary attributes such as on‐site availability of childcare and fewer on‐call duties would decrease the additional income required to compensate the disutility of a rural practice.Discussion. The results offer quantifiable information about young physicians' preferences in establishing a practice. It can assist health policy makers in developing tailored incentive‐based interventions addressing urban–rural inequalities in physician coverage.
Cryotherapy as the treatment modality of postcoital bleeding: A randomised clinical trial of efficacy and safety
Authors: KONG Grace Wing Shan , YIM So Fan , CHEUNG Tak Hong , CHUNG Tony Kwok Hung 
Published: September 2009

Background:  Postcoital bleeding is a common gynaecological problem that impacts on a woman's quality of life and sexual function. There is little systematic research into its management.Aims:  To assess the efficacy and side‐effects of cryotherapy as treatment for postcoital bleeding.Methods:  A prospective randomised controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary referral hospital in Hong Kong. A total of 85 women who presented with postcoital bleeding were recruited, and randomised to cryotherapy or no treatment. The treatment group received cryotherapy with compressed carbon dioxide through a cryoprobe placed on the cervix, and controls had cryoprobe on the cervix without compressed carbon dioxide flow. All recruited women were followed up two weeks, three months and six months to review their symptoms and response to the treatment.Results:  The treatment group had a significantly better long‐term cure rate and improvement rate. At six months, the cryotherapy group reported a cure rate of 72.1% while that in the control group the cure rate was 50.0% (P = 0.04). The number needed to treat was 5. The mean improvement rate of the cryotherapy group was 82.88% ± 35.87 but was only 61.62% ± 55.30 in the control group (P = 0.04). The results were more significant in women with the defined pathological cervix. Apart from the vaginal discharge at second week follow up in the treatment group, there was no statistical significant difference in side‐effects and complications among two groups.Conclusion:  Our study demonstrated that cryotherapy is a safe and an effective treatment for postcoital bleeding.
Fetal macrosomia and pregnancy outcomes
Authors: JU Hong , CHADHA Yogesh , DONOVAN Tim , O’ROURKE Peter 
Published: September 2009

Background:  Pregnancies with a macrosomic fetus comprise a subgroup of high‐risk pregnancies. There is uncertainty in the clinical management and outcomes of such pregnancies.Aim:  We sought to examine clinical management and maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancies with macrosomic infants at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH).Methods:  Data from 276 macrosomic births (weighing ≥ 4500 g) and 294 controls (weighing 3250–3750 g) delivered during 2002–2004 at RBWH were collected from the hospital database. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were performed for maternal risk factors and maternal and neonatal outcomes that were associated with fetal macrosomia.Results:  Macrosomia was more than two times likely in women with body mass index (BMI) of > 30 kg/m2 (odds ratio (OR) 2.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.26–4.61) and in male infant sex (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.35–3.12), and four times more likely in gestation of > 40 weeks (OR 3.93, 95% CI 1.99–7.74). Maternal smoking reduced the risk of fetal macrosomia (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.14–0.51).Macrosomia was associated with nearly two times higher risk of emergency caesarean section (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.02–2.97) and maternal hospital stay of > 3 days (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.11–2.50), and four times higher risk of shoulder dystocia (OR 4.08, 95% CI 1.62–10.29). Macrosomic infants were twice as likely to have resuscitation (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.46–3.34) and intensive care nursery admission (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.03–3.46).Conclusion:  Macrosomia was associated with an increased risk of adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Optimal management strategies of macrosomic pregnancies need evaluation.
Castor oil for induction of labour: Not harmful, not helpful
Authors: BOEL Machteld Elisabeth , LEE Sue Jean , RIJKEN Marcus Johannes , PAW Moo Koo , PIMANPANARAK Mupawjay , TAN Saw Oo , SINGHASIVANON Pratap , NOSTEN François , McGREADY Rose 
Published: September 2009

Background:  Castor oil is one of the most popular drugs for induction of labour in a non‐medical setting; however, published data on safety and effectiveness of this compound to induce labour remain sparse.Aim:  To assess the safety and effectiveness of castor oil for induction of labour in pregnancies with an ultrasound estimated gestational at birth of more than 40 weeks.Methods:  Data were extracted from hospital‐based records of all pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics on the Thai–Burmese border and who were more than 40 weeks pregnant. The effectiveness of castor oil to induce labour was expressed as time to birth and analysed with a Cox proportional hazards regression model. Measures associated with safety were fetal distress, meconium‐stained amniotic fluid, tachysystole of the uterus, uterine rupture, abnormal maternal blood pressure during labour, Apgar scores, neonatal resuscitation, stillbirth, post‐partum haemorrhage, severe diarrhoea and maternal death. Proportions were compared using Fisher's exact test.Results:  Of 612 women with a gestation of more than 40 weeks, 205 received castor oil for induction and 407 did not. The time to birth was not significantly different between the two groups (hazard ratio 0.99 (95% confidence interval: 0.81 to 1.20; n = 509)). Castor oil use was not associated with any harmful effects on the mother or fetus.Conclusions:  Castor oil for induction of labour had no effect on time to birth nor were there any harmful effects observed in this large series. Our findings leave no justification for recommending castor oil for this purpose.
The effect of elevated serum estradiol levels on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin injection on pregnancy outcomes in an assisted reproduction program
Authors: YOLDEMIR Tevfik , FRASER Ian S. 
Published: September 2009

Background: Women who have a high estradiol level on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin injection are considered to have their in vitro fertilisation treatments compromised. How this really affects the pregnancy rates needs to be questioned.Aim: To determine if elevated serum estradiol levels on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin injection have a deleterious effect on clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates in an assisted reproduction program.Methods: A retrospective analysis was done of women with estradiol levels higher than 10 000 pmol/L and women with estradiol levels between 8000–10 000 pmol/L on the day of ovulation trigger undergoing in vitro fertilisation treatment at the Fertility Unit of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, University of Sydney, Australia. Pregnancy rates were compared for those having fresh embryo transfers and those having frozen thawed embryo transfers in subsequent cycles.Results: There was no difference between the groups in terms of clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates.Conclusion:  Frozen thawed embryos obtained from controlled ovarian hyperstimulation cycles resulted in similar clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates as those obtained in previous fresh embryo transfer cycles.
Diurnal changes and frequency dependence in male mating preference for female morphs in the damselfly Ischnura senegalensis (Rambur) (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)
Authors: TAKAHASHI Yuma , WATANABE Mamoru 
Published: September 2009

Abstract Ischnura senegalensis females exhibit color dimorphism, consisting of an andromorph and a gynomorph, which might be maintained under a frequency‐dependent process of mating harassment by mate‐searching males. Males change their mating preference for female morph depending on prior copulation experience. Binary choice experiments between two female morphs were carried out in four local populations in the early morning (07.00–09.00 hours) and the afternoon (12.00–14.00 hours), times which mark the onset and the end of diurnal mating activity, respectively. According to the line census along the water's edge, the proportion of andromorphs in the female population varied from 21 to 67% throughout the survey period for four local populations. Males showed non‐biased preference for female morphs in the early morning in each local population, while they chose the common morph in the afternoon. Male mating preference for female morphs was positively correlated to the proportion of female morphs in the population. If the selective mating attacks on the common female morphs inhibit their foraging and/or oviposition behavior, frequency‐dependent male mating attacks might provide a selective force for maintaining the female color dimorphism in I. senegalensis.
Systematic studies on the Pompilidae occurring in Japan: Genus Agenioideus Ashmead (Hymenoptera), supplement
Authors: SHIMIZU Akira , WAHIS Raymond 
Published: September 2009

AbstractTwo species of the pompilid genus Agenioideus occurring in Japan are described: A. (Agenioideus) kokyo and A. (A.) cinctellus. The former is new to science and the latter is recorded from Japan and Taiwan for the first time. A brief summary of the biology of A. cinctellus, distinguishing characters between A. (A.) ishikawai Shimizu, 1989 and its relatives, and a key to all Japanese species of this genus are presented. Psammochares cinctellus f. rufa Haupt, 1938 and A. (A.) pacificus Lelej, 1994 are newly synonymized with A. cinctellus. A new combination is proposed: A. (A.) maculipes (Smith, 1870) (=Pompilus maculipes Smith), which is found in Southeast Asia to South Asia. Agenioideus ishikawai is newly recorded from Korea and China.
Discovery of three new species of Drosophila obscura species group (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from Mount Kinabalu in Borneo
Authors: GAO Jian‐jun , TANABE Shin‐ichi , TODA Masanori J. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractWe describe three new species of the Drosophila obscura species group, D. hypercephala, D. hideakii and D. quadrangula Gao & Toda, spp. nov., all discovered from high altitudes (>1500 m) on Mt Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. These are the southernmost distribution records of the D. obscura group in the Oriental Region. The three new species are each morphologically similar to different species of the Old World D. obscura species subgroup. This suggests that they are descendants of different founder species that independently colonized the tropics from the subtropical or temperate zones during the glacial ages. The new species D. hypercephala is hypercephalic not only in males but also, although less distinct, in females, unlike other hypercephalic drosophilid species in which only males are hypercephalic. This new finding of a hypercephalic species from the subgenus Sophophora, of which species are relatively easy to culture in the laboratory and include the model species such as D. melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura, will promote genetic analyses on the development and the evolution of hypercephaly.
Phylogeny of ground beetles subgenus Nialoe (s. lat.) Tanaka (Coleoptera: Carabidae; genus Pterostichus): A molecular phylogenetic approach
Authors: SASAKAWA Kôji , KUBOTA Kôhei 
Published: September 2009

AbstractWe constructed a phylogeny of the ground beetle subgenus Nialoe (s. lat.), genus Pterostichus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) based on two mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I and 16S ribosomal DNA) and one nuclear (28S ribosomal DNA) gene sequences. Thirty‐three representative species of the group and three outgroup species were analyzed. The resultant trees (maximum parsimonious, maximum likelihood and Bayesian trees of the combined data of the three gene sequences) indicated that there are two large and three small lineages in the group, some of which were supported by a previous morphology‐based phylogeny. In all the analyses, the small lineage composed of two Korean species is sister to the rest of the subgenus, but relationships of other four lineages differed among the analyses and remained unresolved. The implications of the present results are discussed in terms of taxonomy and biogeography of the group.
Oviposition behavior of Zatypota albicoxa (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), an ectoparasitoid of Achaearanea tepidariorum (Araneae, Theridiidae)
Authors: TAKASUKA Keizo , MATSUMOTO Rikio , OHBAYASHI Nobuo 
Published: September 2009

AbstractOviposition behavior of Zatypota albicoxa (Walker) is described. This wasp parasitizes the house spider Achaearanea tepidariorum (Koch), which weaves irregular, three‐dimensional webs. Based on field observations, two modes of oviposition behavior were recognized. In one, the wasp hung on the web, pulling the thread with its fore leg, until the spider lifted it up (ambush‐style). In the other mode, the wasp climbed the web (climbing‐style). Under laboratory conditions in an aquarium, the wasp hung on the web in mid height of the gumfoot thread as in the former style, then flew toward unaware spider and paralyzed it. After paralyzing, the wasp usually rubbed the spider's abdomen with its ovipositor and tip of metasoma repeatedly at short intervals for several minutes. In all cases they adopted the same posture in which they grasped the spider abdomen with fore and mid legs during oviposition. As female wasps emerged from larger hosts and male wasps emerged from smaller ones, the ovipositing wasp apparently assesses the size of the spider and chooses whether to lay a fertilized or an unfertilized egg. In addition, it was confirmed that Z. albicoxa expelled the eggs not from the tip of the ovipositor but from the tip of its abdomen, as in other species of the Polysphincta group (e.g. Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga, Reclinervellus tuberculatus and Schizopyga circulator).
Descriptions and biological notes ofCtenoplectrabees from Southeast Asia and Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Ctenoplectrini) with a new species from North Borneo
Authors: SUNG I‐Hsin , DUBITZKY Andreas , EARDLEY Connal , YAMANE Sôichi 
Published: September 2009

AbstractSixCtenoplectraspecies are recorded from Southeast Asia and Taiwan. They areC. chalybeaSmith,C. cornutaGribodo,C. davidiVachal,C. elseiEngel,C. sandakanasp. nov. andC. vagansCockerell. Females ofC. sandakanasp. nov. from North Borneo are similar to the mainland speciesC. chalybea, but differ mainly in the clypeal keel and the length of the antennal segments. The small blackish species,C. cornuta, is distributed in Myanmar, China and Taiwan andC. davidiis distributed in China, Russia and Taiwan; both species are seen at the flowers ofThladiantha.Ctenoplectra chalybeawas collected from the Malay Peninsula, Myanmar, Taiwan and Vietnam.Ctenoplectra apicalisSmith andC. kelloggiCockerell are allied toC. chalybea; however,C. kelloggiis excluded from this study due to insufficient material. A key to the six knownCtenoplectraspecies is given. The large metallic species,C. chalybeaandC. elsei, visit flowers ofMomordica cochinchinensis(Lour.) Spreng. For the first time observations on the nest structures ofC. chalybeaandC. cornutaare presented. They choose remarkable places, such as artificial structures and buildings, for nest sites. The nest architecture prevents rain and direct sunlight from entering the nest. Bees used pre‐existing holes or crevices in wood for nesting shelters and collected soil and appeared to mix it with some other substance to build nests. The cell lining materials and rubbing behaviors against the cell wall suggest thatCtenoplectrabees use floral oil mainly for cell lining materials.