bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Fungicides on Sugar Beet Yield, Quality, and Postharvest Respiration Rates in the Absence of Disease
Authors: Khan M. F. R. , Carlson A. L. 
Published: November 2009

Five fungicides were each applied on sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) three times at about 14-day intervals beginning in July in 2005 through 2008. No foliar disease occurred in the nontreated control or any fungicide treatment. There were no significant differences in root yield, recoverable sucrose, or sucrose concentration among treatments. In 2007 and 2008, postharvest storage respiration rates were determined after 30 and 90 days in storage. There was no significant difference in respiration rates among treatments. There was no apparent benefit in applying these fungicides in seasons when no foliar disease developed. Accepted for publication 7 September 2009. Published 19 October 2009.
Acute alcohol impairs conditioning of a behavioural reward‐seeking response and inhibitory control processes—implications for addictive disorders
Authors: Loeber Sabine , Duka Theodora 
Published: November 2009

ABSTRACTAims  To investigate whether acute alcohol would affect performance of a conditioned behavioural response to obtain a reward outcome and impair performance in a task measuring inhibitory control to provide new knowledge of how the acute effects of alcohol might contribute to the transition from alcohol use to dependence.Design  A randomized controlled between‐subjects design was employed.Settings  The laboratory of experimental psychology at the University of Sussex.Participants  Thirty‐two light to moderate social drinkers recruited from the undergraduate and postgraduate population.Measurements  After the administration of alcohol (0.8 g/kg) or placebo participants underwent an instrumental reward‐seeking procedure, with abstract stimuli serving as S+ (always predicting a win of 10 pence) and S− (always predicting a loss of 10 pence). In addition, a Stop Signal task was administered before and after the administration of alcohol.Findings  Participants of the alcohol group performed the behavioural response to obtain the reward outcome more often than placebo subjects in trials associated with loss of money. This finding was observed, although alcohol was not affecting explicit knowledge of stimulus–response outcome contingencies and acquisition of conditioned attentional and emotional responses. In addition, alcohol increased Stop Signal reaction time indicating disinhibiting effects of alcohol, and this was associated positively with response probability to the S−.Conclusions  These results demonstrate that alcohol is affecting inhibitory control of behavioural responses to external signals even when associated with punishment, contributing in this way to the transition from alcohol use to dependence.
The cost‐effectiveness of antidepressants for smoking cessation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients
Authors: Van Schayck Constant P. , Kaper Janneke , Wagena Edwin J. , Wouters Emiel F. M. , Severens Johannes L. 
Published: November 2009

ABSTRACTObjectives  In healthy smokers, antidepressants can double the odds of cessation. Because of its four times lower costs and comparable efficacy in healthy smokers, nortriptyline appears to be favourable compared to bupropion. We assessed which of both drugs was most effective and cost‐effective in stopping smoking after 1 year compared with placebo among smokers at risk or with existing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Methods  A total of 255 participants, aged 30–70 years, received smoking cessation counselling and were assigned bupropion, nortriptyline or placebo randomly for 12 weeks. Prolonged abstinence from smoking was defined as a participant's report of no cigarettes from week 4 to week 52, validated by urinary cotinine. Costs were calculated using a societal perspective and uncertainty was assessed using the bootstrap method.Results  The prolonged abstinence rate was 20.9% with bupropion, 20.0% with nortriptyline and 13.5% with placebo. The differences between bupropion and placebo [relative risk (RR) = 1.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8–3.0] and between nortriptyline and placebo (RR = 1.5; 95% CI 0.8–2.9) were not significant. Severity of airway obstruction did not influence abstinence significantly. Societal costs were €1368 (2.5th–97.5th percentile 193–5260) with bupropion, €1906 (2.5th–97.5th 120–17 761) with nortriptyline and €1212 (2.5th–97.5th 96–6602) with placebo. Were society willing to pay more than €2000 for a quitter, bupropion was most likely to be cost‐effective.Conclusions  Bupropion and nortriptyline seem to be equally effective, but bupropion appears to be more cost‐effective when compared to placebo and nortriptyline. This impression holds using only health care costs. As the cost‐effectiveness analyses concern some uncertainties, the results should be interpreted with care and future studies are needed to replicate the findings.
The natural history of quitting smoking: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey
Authors: Herd Natalie , Borland Ron 
Published: November 2009

ABSTRACTAims  To describe the long‐term natural history of a range of potential determinants of relapse from quitting smoking.Design, setting and participants  A survey of 2502 ex‐smokers of varying lengths of time quit recruited as part of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States) across five annual waves of surveying.Measurements  Quitters were interviewed by telephone at varying durations of abstinence, ranging from 1 to 1472 days (about 4 years) post‐quitting. Smoking‐related beliefs and experiences (i.e. urges to smoke; outcome expectancies of smoking and quitting; and abstinence self‐efficacy) were included in the survey.Findings  Most theorized determinants of relapse changed over time in a manner theoretically associated with reduced risk of relapse, except most notably the belief that smoking controls weight, which strengthened. Change in these determinants changed at different rates: from a rapidly asymptoting log function to a less rapidly asymptoting square‐root function.Conclusions  Variation in patterns of change across time suggests that the relative importance of each factor to maintaining abstinence may similarly vary.
Predictors of smoking relapse by duration of abstinence: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey
Authors: Herd Natalie , Borland Ron , Hyland Andrew 
Published: November 2009

ABSTRACTAim  To explore predictors of smoking relapse and how predictors vary according to duration of abstinence.Design, setting and participants  A longitudinal survey of 1296 ex‐smokers recruited as part of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States).Measurements  Quitters were interviewed by telephone at varying durations of abstinence (from 1 day to approximately 3 years) and then followed‐up approximately 1 year later. Theorized predictors of relapse (i.e. urges to smoke; outcome expectancies of smoking and quitting; and abstinence self‐efficacy) and nicotine dependence were measured in the survey.Findings  Relapse was associated with lower abstinence self‐efficacy and a higher frequency of urges to smoke, but only after the first month or so of quitting. Both these measures mediated relationships between perceived benefits of smoking and relapse. Perceived costs of smoking and benefits of quitting were unrelated to relapse.Conclusions  Challenging perceived benefits of smoking may be an effective way to increase abstinence self‐efficacy and reduce frequency of urges to smoke (particularly after the initial weeks of quitting), in order to reduce subsequent relapse risk.
Identification and characterization of odorant‐binding protein 1 gene from the Asian malaria mosquito, Anopheles stephensi
Authors: Sengul M. S. , Tu Z. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractInsect odorant‐binding proteins (OBPs) are small, water‐soluble molecules that are thought to transport the hydrophobic odorants to their receptors in the chemosensory neurones. Here we report the identification and molecular characterization of the Anopheles stephensi odorant‐binding protein 1 gene (AsteObp1), an Obp1 gene in An. stephensi, a major malaria vector in Asia. We show that AsteObp1 and Anopheles gambiae Obp1 (AgamObp1) are orthologues. These two genes share similar coding sequences and conserved noncoding sequences (CNSs) that may be involved in their regulation. Transcript of AsteObp1 was observed in larvae and reached a relatively high level in late pupae. Quantitative real‐time PCR on female adult chemosensory tissues showed ∼900‐fold higher expression of AsteObp1 in antennae than in maxillary palp and proboscis. The amount of AsteObp1 in female legs was approximately 15‐fold lower than that of maxillary palp and proboscis. The level of AsteObp1 transcript was seven and 85‐fold higher in females than in males in the antennae, and maxillary palp and proboscis, respectively. Moreover, the AsteObp1 level was reduced by approximately 20‐fold in maxillary palp and proboscis 24 h after a bloodmeal. Our results indicate that AsteObp1 is likely to function in the female olfactory response and may also be involved in blood‐feeding behaviour.
Testing for biogeographic mechanisms promoting divergence in Caribbean crickets (genus Amphiacusta)
Authors: Oneal Elen , Otte Daniel , Knowles L. Lacey 
Published: November 2009

AbstractAim  This work examines whether the history of diversification of Amphiacusta (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) in the Caribbean corresponds to a vicariant or a dispersalist model.Location  The Greater Antillean islands of the Caribbean region.Methods  The phylogenetic relationships among species were estimated using a procedure that directly estimates the underlying species tree from independent loci (in this case, one mitochondrial and one nuclear locus). This tree was then used to test for topological congruence with a vicariant model, and to estimate divergence times.Results  The analyses based on the expected pattern of species divergence (i.e. species‐tree topology) support a vicariant model. With the notable exception of a dispersal event marking the colonization of Jamaica, the timing of the events are generally consistent with a vicariant scenario, given the current taxon sampling and potential errors with dating the divergence events.Main conclusions  The tendency of species to co‐segregate by island suggests that intra‐island diversification is common. Despite their flightlessness, species of Amphiacusta are apparently capable of long‐distance dispersal, such as colonization from the Puerto Rican/Virgin Island bank to Jamaica. The topology of the species tree is consistent with a vicariant model of divergence, and the dates of divergence between island groups are generally consistent with an island–island vicariance model. A strict island–island vicariance scenario can, however, be rejected because of inferred dispersal events such as the colonization of Jamaica. Nevertheless, the biogeographic tests suggest that most of the diversity was generated under a combination of intra‐island diversification and island–island vicariance. Additional sampling of taxa will be needed to verify this hypothesized scenario. Our findings indicate that Amphiacusta presents an ideal opportunity for examining the role of sexual selection in promoting diversification, which would complement the large number of studies focused on adaptive divergence of Caribbean taxa.
The effect of nurse‐performed preoperative skin preparation on postoperative surgical site infections in abdominal surgery
Authors: Dizer Berna , Hatipoglu Sevgi , Kaymakcioglu Nihat , Tufan Turgut , Yava Ayla , Iyigun Emine , Senses Zeynep 
Published: November 2009

Aim.  To determine the effect of preoperative skin preparation procedures performed by nurses on postoperative surgical site infection in abdominal surgery.Background.  Despite all interventions, postoperative SSIs still greatly affect mortality and morbidity.Design.  This is an experimental study.Methods.  Procedures developed for nurse application of preoperative skin preparations were tested on a control group (n = 39) and study group (n = 43).Results.  Only clinical routines for preoperative skin preparation were performed on the control group patients. Control group members’ skins were mostly prepared by shaving with a razor blade (41%). For the study group members, the researchers used the preoperative skin preparation procedure. Clippers were used to prepare 55·8% of study group members while 44·2% of them were not treated with the clipper because their wounds were clean. As a requirement of the procedure, all members of the study group had a chlorhexidine bath at least twice after being hospitalised and at least once a night before the operation under controlled conditions. In the group where chlorhexidine bath was not applied, the infection risk was found to be 4·76 times (95%CI = 1·20–18·83) greater even after corrections for age and gender had been made. The difference between control group and study group with respect to surgical site infections was also statistically significant (p < 0·05).Conclusion.  Preoperative skin preparation using clipper on the nights before an operation and a 50 ml chlorhexidine bath excluding head area taken twice in the pre‐operative period are useful to reduce SSI during postoperative period.Relevance to clinical practice.  We find that preoperative skin preparation using the procedures developed as a result of findings of this study is useful in reducing surgical site infection during the postoperative period.
Psychometric properties of the extended Care Dependency Scale for older persons in Egypt
Authors: Boggatz Thomas , Farid Tamer , Mohammedin Ahmed , Dijkstra Ate , Lohrmann Christa , Dassen Theo 
Published: November 2009

Aim.  The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the modified Arabic Care Dependency Scale for self‐assessment of older persons in Egypt and to compare these self‐assessments to proxy assessments by care givers and family members.Background.  The Care Dependency Scale is an internationally used instrument to measure care dependency. The Arabic version may improve data collection on this phenomenon in the Middle East where the population is ageing.Design.  A cross‐sectional study with a sample of 611 older persons living in Greater Cairo. Participants belonged to three groups: nursing home residents, home care recipients and non‐care recipients; 459 participants were also rated by proxies and 171 repeated their self‐assessment after two weeks.Methods.  The correlation between sum scores of the Care Dependency Scale and the Activities of Daily Living scale was calculated to establish criterion validity. Construct validity was determined by comparing care recipients and non‐care recipients with regard to their Care Dependency Scale sum scores and by exploratory factor analysis. Intraclass coefficients were used to assess test‐retest reliability of self‐ratings for each item. Mean differences between self and proxy assessment were calculated.Results.  The Care Dependency Scale had a strong correlation to the Activities of Daily Living scale and is able to distinguish between care recipients and non‐care recipients. Factor analysis revealed one factor for basic needs and one factor for psychosocial needs. ICC values were >0·7 for most items related to the factor for basic needs among care recipients. Proxy assessment yielded higher care dependency than self assessment.Conclusion.  Care Dependency Scale items for basic needs are suitable to assess care dependency among Egyptian care recipients.Relevance to clinical practice.  Assessment of care dependency is useful to obtain data for appropriate resource allocation among care recipients.
Prophylactic human papillomavirus vaccines: will they do their job?
Authors: Stanley M. 
Published: November 2009

Abstract.  Stanley M (University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK). Prophylactic HPV vaccines: will they do their job? (Foresight). J Intern Med 2010; 267: 251–259The prophylactic HPV L1 virus like particle vaccines are highly efficacious preventing >98% of HPV 16/18 caused high grade cervical intra‐epithelial neoplasia (CIN2/3) according to protocol group in phase III randomized clinical trials over approximately 4 years. Data from the trials together with postvaccine surveillance indicates that they have a good safety profile. As the current HPV vaccines include only two of the 15 oncogenic HPVs, they will not eliminate cervical cancer or the other HPV associated ano‐genital diseases but could reduce, for example, the incidence of cervix cancer by up to 70–80%, if effectively delivered to adolescent females.
The evolution of haplodiploidy by male‐killing endosymbionts: importance of population structure and endosymbiont mutualisms
Authors: KUIJPER B. , PEN I. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractHaplodiploid inheritance systems, characterized by male transmission of only their maternally inherited genomic elements, have evolved more than 20 times within the animal kingdom. A number of theoretical studies have argued that infection with certain male‐killing endosymbionts can potentially lead to the evolution of haplodiploidy. By explicitly investigating the coevolutionary dynamics between host and endosymbiont, we show that the assumptions of current models cannot explain the evolution of haplodiploidy very well, as the endosymbiont will often go extinct in the long term. Here, we provide two additional mechanisms that can explain the stable evolution of haplodiploidy by male‐killing endosymbionts. First of all, a spatially structured population can facilitate the long‐term persistence of haplodiploidy, but this applies only when levels of inbreeding are very high. By contrast, endosymbionts that are mutualistic with their hosts provide a much more general and promising route to the stable evolution of haplodiploidy. This model is the first to provide a formal explanation of the supposed association between the evolution of haplodiploidy and the highly inbred lifestyles of some ancestors, while it also provides a hypothesis for the evolution of haplodiploidy in more outbred ancestors.
Food Recruitment Information can Spatially Redirect Employed Stingless Bee Foragers
Authors: Sánchez Daniel , Nieh James C. , León Adolfo , Vandame Rémy 
Published: November 2009

AbstractWithin a rewarding floral patch, eusocial bee foragers frequently switch sites, going from one flower to another. However, site switching between patches tends to occur with low frequency while a given patch is still rewarding, thus reducing pollen dispersal and gene flow between patches. In principle, forager switching and gene flow between patches could be higher when close patches offer similar rewards. We investigated site switching during food recruitment in the stingless bee Scaptotrigona mexicana. Thus, we trained three groups of foragers to three feeders in different locations, one group per location. These groups did not interact each other during the training phase. Next, interaction among trained foragers was allowed. We found that roughly half of the foragers switched sites, the other half remaining faithful to its training feeder. Switching is influenced by the presence of recruitment information. In the absence of recruitment information (bees visiting and recruiting for feeders), employed foragers were site specific. Foragers only switched among feeders that were being visited and recruited to. Switching was not caused by learned aversion to experimental handling. Switching in response to recruitment could provide a fitness benefit to the colony by facilitating rapid switching among exploited patches and provide a benefit of increasing plant gene flow between patches.
Parental and Mating Effort: Is There Necessarily a Trade‐Off?
Authors: Stiver Kelly A. , Alonzo Suzanne H. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractOne of the common assumptions in the study of the evolution of parental care is that trade‐offs exist between parental investment and other fitness‐related traits. In general, this body of work follows the traditional definition that parental investment (in the current offspring) decreases that individual’s ability to invest in future reproduction (Trivers 1972). However, examination of the empirical evidence shows that assuming a trade‐off between parental and mating effort is not always appropriate. This overemphasis on a trade‐off between mating and parental effort has arisen in part because of an oversimplification of female reproductive strategies, a failure to consider interactions between the sexes, and a tendency to consider behaviours as unifunctional, thereby ignoring the more complex relationship between mating and parental effort in many species. Here, we first examine the empirical evidence for trade‐offs between mating and parental effort in males and females to ask when trade‐offs occur and what pattern they take. By highlighting a number of exemplar species, we then explore how the presence or absence of trade‐offs relates to mate choice and sexual selection in both sexes. Finally, we highlight the importance of considering individual variation, which has been particularly overlooked in examinations of female investment, and how preferences in one sex may influence the existence and our interpretation of apparent trade‐offs in the other sex.
Perinatal outcome of recurrent pre‐eclampsia versus pre‐eclampsia in nulliparas
Authors: Chen Yi‐Yung , Wu Mao‐Lin , Kao Mei‐Hua , Su Tsung‐Hsien , Chen Chie‐Pein 
Published: November 2009

AbstractAim:  The aim of the study was to compare the perinatal outcome of recurrent pre‐eclampsia in multiparas with that of pre‐eclampsia in nulliparas.Methods:  This retrospective study was performed by collecting maternal and perinatal data from records of women with pre‐eclampsia who delivered at Mackay Memorial Hospital over a 10‐year period. Fifty women with recurrent pre‐eclampsia were compared with 207 women who developed pre‐eclampsia as nulliparas. In the 50 multiparas, the outcome of recurrent pre‐eclampsia was also compared with that of their earlier episodes of pre‐eclampsia. Maternal and fetal variables compared included maternal blood pressure, serum biochemistry, rate of preterm delivery, rate of abruptio placentae and neonatal outcome.Results:  Compared with nulliparous women with pre‐eclampsia (n = 50), women with recurrent pre‐eclampsia (n = 207) had a smaller increase in mean maternal blood pressure (27.0 ± 18.9 mmHg vs 34.3 ± 19.3 mmHg, P = 0.021), less dipstick proteinuria (≥++; 36.0 vs 58.5%, P = 0.004), and bore children with a heavier mean birthweight (2909.1 ± 895.5 g vs 2551.1 ± 933.0 g, P = 0.017). No significant statistical difference was found in the gestational age of delivery, maternal serum biochemical levels and rate of abruptio placentae or preterm delivery. Within the multiparous group (n = 50), recurrent disease was associated with a lower mean maternal blood pressure and dipstick proteinuria and with higher birthweight than in their previous pre‐eclamptic pregnancies.Conclusion:  Recurrent pre‐eclampsia appears to be less severe and to have a better perinatal outcome than pre‐eclampsia in nulliparas.
Are the dynamics of tropical forests dominated by large and rare disturbance events?
Authors: Lloyd Jon , Gloor Emanuel U. , Lewis Simon L. 
Published: November 2009

Ecology Letters (2009) 12: E19–E21AbstractA recent Ecology Letters paper of Fisher et al. (2008) utilized a modelling framework to investigate disturbance effects on forest biomass dynamics. But it contains serious methodological and conceptual errors. Associated conclusions are unlikely to be correct.