bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of the tension‐free vaginal tape obturator procedure on sexual function in women with stress urinary incontinence
Authors: Xu Ying , Song Yanfeng , Huang Huijuan 
Published: January 2011

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate prospectively the impact of the tension‐free vaginal tape obturator (TVT‐O) procedure on sexual function in women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).MethodsThe present prospective study included women with SUI and no concomitant prolapse who underwent a TVT‐O procedure at Fuzhou General Hospital in Fuzhou, Fujian, China. Before and 6 months after surgery, the patients had their sexual function evaluated using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. Only sexually active women were included in the final analysis.ResultsAmong the 55 sexually active patients, 21.8% had coital incontinence, which was cured in 11 of 12 patients (91.7%). More than half (54.5%) the women reported an improvement in sexual function after surgery and 45.5% reported no change. No statistically significant difference was found between preoperative and postoperative total or domain (desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain) scores on the FSFI.ConclusionThe TVT‐O procedure in women with SUI did not significantly affect sexual function. Further studies are needed to verify the findings and compare the impact of TVT‐O on sexual function with that of other anti‐incontinence procedures.
Intrauterine insemination in Jamaica as a low‐cost subfertility treatment in a low‐resource region
Authors: Christie Loxley R. , Harriott John A. , Dacosta Vernon E. , Wynter Shaun H. , Everett Denise M. , Foster Rochelle A. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the impact of intrauterine insemination on the management of subfertility in Jamaica.MethodsThe present study was a retrospective analysis of all intrauterine insemination cycles completed from May 1, 2002, to August 31, 2005, at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. The cycle pregnancy rate (CPR), live‐birth rate (LBR), and cumulative pregnancy rate were obtained and prognostic factors were reviewed.ResultsThe CPR, LBR, and cumulative pregnancy rate were 10.1%, 8.8%, and 13.9%, respectively. Improved success was significantly associated with a shorter period of infertility (3.10 ± 1.43 years vs 5.22 ± 2.89 years; P = 0.01). Women younger than 40 years of age, men with increased post‐preparation sperm counts, and couples undergoing 2–3 cycles had improved outcomes.ConclusionIntrauterine insemination represents a safe and cost‐effective option for mild male factor infertility or unexplained infertility, especially in resource‐poor regions such as the Caribbean. Repeated failed cycles identify those who would probably benefit from early intervention with in vitro fertilization.
Magnetic resonance imaging findings among women with tubercular tubo‐ovarian masses
Authors: Sharma Jai B. , Karmakar Debjyoti , Hari Smriti , Singh Neeta , Singh Shakti P. , Kumar Sunesh , Roy Kallol K. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in women with tubercular tubo‐ovarian masses.MethodsTwenty‐four women with a confirmed diagnosis of tubercular tubo‐ovarian masses underwent MRI. The findings were compared with laparotomy/laparoscopy results wherever possible.ResultsThe mean age was 30.7 years and the mean parity was 1.5. The main symptom in 37.5% of patients was infertility. The MRI findings included unilateral definitive tubo‐ovarian masses (n = 4 [16.7%]); bilateral definitive tubo‐ovarian masses (n = 4 [16.7%]); unilateral hydrosalpinx (n = 8 [33.3%]); bilateral hydrosalpinx (n = 4 [16.7%]); unilateral adnexal cyst (n = 4 [16.7%]), tuberculous deposits on the liver (n = 1 [4.2%]); and cervical growth (n = 1 [4.2%]). Other associated findings were endometriosis (n = 2 [8.3%]), inclusion cyst (n = 1 [4.2%]), subserous fibroid (n = 1 [4.2%]), sacroiliac joint arthritis (n = 1 [4.2%]), and enteritis (n = 1 [4.2%]).ConclusionMRI seems to be a useful modality for the diagnosis of tubercular tubo‐ovarian masses.
Oral contraceptives and the risk of venous thromboembolism: An update
Authors: Reid Robert , Leyland Nicholas , Wolfman Wendy , Allaire Catherine , Awadalla Alaa , Best Carolyn , Dunn Sheila , Lemyre Madeleine , Marcoux Violaine , Menard Chantal , Potestio Frank , Rittenberg David , Singh Sukhbir , Senikas Vyta 
Published: January 2011

AbstractObjectiveTo provide current and emerging evidence on oral contraceptives and the risk of venous thromboembolism.EvidenceArticles published in English from 2005 were retrieved through searches of PubMed and Medline, using the following terms: venous thromboembolism, VTE, contraception, oral contraceptives, hormonal contraception. Results were restricted to systematic reviews, randomized control trials/controlled clinical trials, and observational studies. Searches were updated on a regular basis and incorporated in the guideline to May 2010. Grey (unpublished) literature was identified through searching the websites of health technology assessment and health technology assessment‐related agencies, clinical practice guideline collections, clinical trial registries, and national and international medical specialty societies.ValuesThe quality of evidence was rated using the criteria described by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (Table).
Rationalism and public policy: Mode of analysis or symbolic politics?
Authors: Saint-Martin Denis , Allison Christine Rothmayr 
Published: January 2011

Abstract
This article takes up the distinction between incremental analysis and incremental politics as elaborated by Lindblom in his 1979 article. We argue that while rationalism as a mode of analysis has lost much of its prominence, rationalism as symbolic politics is still very much alive and might even be more present today than it was back when Lindblom wrote his famous 1959 article. The recent shift to new modes of governance whereby elected officials are increasingly delegating decision-making powers to independent bureaucracies – what Majone calls the “regulatory state” or what the British describe as “agencification” or quangoisation” – has created an important legitimacy deficit for those non-majoritarian institutions that exercise political authority without enjoying any direct link to the electoral process. In such a context – and in addition to growing public distrust towards partisan politics – rationalist politics is likely to become more rampant as independent bureaucracies lack the legitimacy to publicly recognize the fundamentally incrementalist – and thus values-laden – nature of their decision-making processes.
To develop these ideas, the article looks at the case of “supreme audit institutions”. We argue that the synoptic model is a mean for SAIs to legitimize their shift from classical financial auditing to performance auditing. In comparison to other independent bureaucracies, they are particularly prone to rationalist politics not only because of their institutional independence, but also because of the tradition of financial auditing and the rise of new public management.
Promise and pitfalls for characterizing and correlating the zeolitically altered tephra of the Pleistocene Peninj Group, Tanzania
Authors: McHenry Lindsay J. , Luque Luis , Gómez José Ángel , Diez-Martín Fernando 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThe Pleistocene Humbu and Moinik formations of the Peninj Group in northern Tanzania preserve an important archaeological and paleontological record, in addition to a record of local volcanism in the form of tephra and lavas. Samples of the major Humbu and Moinik formations' basaltic and trachytic tephra were collected and characterized using phenocryst composition and both primary and authigenic mineral assemblage, since the volcanic glass was completely altered to zeolite. Some tephra are distinguishable solely using phenocrysts, but some are too similar in mineral composition or too poor in phenocrysts to definitively “fingerprint” without glass. Titanomagnetite phenocrysts were mostly altered; characterization was thus limited to feldspar, augite, and hornblende compositions for most tephra. Phenocryst compositions were compared to Olduvai tephra compositions to see if any regional tephra could be identified that could help correlate the sites. Augite or hornblende composition rules out potential correlations of Olduvai Bed I Tuff IF and the Bed II Bird Print Tuff or Tuff IID to otherwise similar Peninj Group tephra. Despite their overlap in age and locations at less than ~ 80 km from the Ngorongoro Volcanic Highlands, Peninj and Olduvai have different tephra records, which limits the possibilities for establishing a regional tephrostratigraphic framework.
Agricultural drought monitoring in semi-arid and arid areas using MODIS data
Authors: SHAHABFAR A. , EITZINGER J. 
Published: January 2011

SUMMARYThe performances of two remote sensing drought indices were evaluated at selected agricultural sites in different agro-climatic zones in Iran to detect the severity of drought phenomena related to temporal variation and different climatic conditions. The indices used were the perpendicular drought index (PDI) and the modified perpendicular drought index (MPDI), which are derived from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images (MOD13A3 V005). The correlations between these perpendicular indices and two other remote sensing indices in ten different agro-climatic zones of Iran from February 2000 to December 2005 were analysed. The additional indices evaluated were the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and the vegetation condition index (VCI) along with five water balance parameters, including climatic water balance (CL), crop water balance (CR), monthly reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0), crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and required irrigation water (I). Winter wheat was selected as the reference crop because it is grown in the majority of climatic conditions in Iran.The results show that in several climatic regions, there is a statistically significant correlation between PDI and MPDI and the water balance parameters, indicating an acceptable performance in detecting crop drought stress conditions. In all zones except at the sites located in northwest and northeast of Iran, VCI and EVI are less correlated with the applied water balance indicators compared to PDI and MPDI. In a temporal analysis, PDI and MPDI showed a greater ability to detect CR conditions than VCI and EVI in the most drought-sensitive winter wheat-growing stages. Since Iran is characterized by arid or semi-arid climatic conditions and winter wheat is a major agricultural crop, a combination of both PDI and MPDI could be used as simple remote sensing-based tool to map drought conditions for crops in Iran and in other developing countries with similar climatic conditions.
Effects of attitudinal and sociodemographic factors on pro-environmental behaviour in urban China
Authors: CHEN XIAODONG , PETERSON M. NILS , HULL VANESSA , LU CHUNTIAN , LEE GRAISE D. , HONG DAYONG , LIU JIANGUO 
Published: January 2011

SUMMARYChina currently faces severe environmental challenges, and information regarding the predictors of pro-environmental behaviour in China is needed to manage them. This study addresses this need by modelling the sociodemographic and attitudinal factors predicting pro-environmental behaviour in urban China. Pro-environmental behaviour was modelled as a function of environmental attitude (measured using the new environmental paradigm) and various sociodemographic characteristics. Respondents who were employed, holding leadership positions, living in larger cities and single were more likely to participate in pro-environmental behaviour. These results accord with previous studies suggesting being female, younger, highly educated and having environmentally oriented attitudes increased the odds of participating in pro-environmental behaviour. The rapid urbanization and economic development in China may significantly impact pro-environmental behaviour in the future.
Concrete stream calculus: An extended study
Authors: HINZE RALF 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThis paper shows how to reason about streams concisely and precisely. Streams, infinite sequences of elements, live in a coworld: they are given by a coinductive datatype, operations on streams are implemented by corecursive programs, and proofs are typically concocted using coinduction. This paper offers an alternative to coinduction. Suitably restricted, stream equations possessunique solutions. This property gives rise to a simple and attractive proof technique, essentially bringing equational reasoning to the coworld. We redevelop the theory of recurrences, finite calculus and generating functions using streams and stream operators, building on the cornerstone of unique solutions. The paper contains a smörgåsbord of examples: we study recursion elimination, investigate the binary carry sequence, explore Sprague-Grundy numbers and present two proofs of Moessner's Theorem. The calculations benefit from the rich structure of streams. As the type of streams is an applicative functor we can effortlessly lift operations and their properties to streams. In combination with Haskell's facilities for overloading, this greatly contributes to conciseness of notation. The development is indeed constructive: streams and stream operators are implemented in Haskell, usually by one-liners. The resulting calculus or library, if you wish, is elegant and fun to use.
Coping Strategies as a Predictor of Post-concussive Symptoms in Children with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury versus Mild Orthopedic Injury
Authors: Woodrome Stacey E. , Yeates Keith Owen , Taylor H. Gerry , Rusin Jerome , Bangert Barbara , Dietrich Ann , Nuss Kathryn , Wright Martha 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThis study examined whether children's coping strategies are related to post-concussive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) versus orthopedic injury (OI). Participants were 8- to 15-year-old children with mild TBI (n = 167) or OI (n = 84). They rated their current preferred coping strategies and post-injury symptoms at 2 weeks (baseline) and 1, 3, and 12 months post-injury. Children's reported use of coping strategies did not vary significantly over time, so their baseline coping ratings were examined as predictors of post-concussive symptoms across time. Self-ratings of symptoms were positively related to emotion-focused strategies and negatively related to problem-focused engagement after both mild TBI and OI. Higher problem-focused disengagement predicted larger group differences in children's ratings of symptoms, suggesting that problem-focused disengagement moderates the effects of mild TBI. Coping strategies collectively accounted for approximately 10–15% of the variance in children's post-concussive symptoms over time. The findings suggest that coping may play an important role in accounting for children's perceptions of post-concussive symptoms after mild TBI. (JINS, 2011, 17, 317–326)
Fiscal storms: public spending and revenues in the aftermath of natural disasters
Authors: NOY ILAN , NUALSRI AEKKANUSH 
Published: January 2011

ABSTRACTWe estimate and quantify the fiscal consequences of natural disasters using quarterly fiscal data for a large panel of countries. In our estimations, we employ a panel vector autoregression framework that also controls for the business cycle. In developed countries, we find fiscal behavior in the aftermath of disasters that can best be characterized as counter-cyclical. In contrast, we find pro-cyclical decreased spending and increasing revenues in developing countries following large natural catastrophes. These pro-cyclical fiscal dynamics are likely to worsen the adverse consequences of natural disasters on middle- and low-income countries. We quantify these dynamics.The canton of Unterwald in Switzerland is frequently ravaged by storms and inundations, and is thereby exposed to extraordinary expences. Upon such occasions the people assemble, and every one is said to declare with the greatest frankness what he is worth in order to be taxed accordingly.(The Wealth of Nationsby Adam Smith, book V, chapter II, p. 359).
Kyushu University Beamline, BL06, at SAGA Light Source
Authors: Yoshioka S. , Ishioka T. , Okabe H. , Harata A. , Sejima Y. , Hara K. , Okajima T. 
Published: January 2011

Kyushu University has installed the hard X-ray beamline, BL06, at bending magnet source of SAGA Light Source in Japan. It is designed for X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments. The X-ray energy covered by the beamline ranges from 2.1 to 23 keV using a Si(111) flat double-crystal monochromator. Two bent cylindrical-type focusing mirrors are used, each with a different focal point. They are set in the optics section and can be used independently. One of the mirrors has a focal distance of 6 m, which corresponds to the sample stage for XAFS experiments, while the second mirror focuses at 10 m, corresponding to the detector for the SAXS experiments. The photon flux measured by the ion chamber at mirror focal point is 1010 phs/s. The experimental hutch houses the detection equipment for both XAFS and SAXS. For XAFS studies, a set of ion chambers for transmission mode and a Lytle detector and a Si drift detector for fluorescence yield mode are available. For SAXS studies, the camera pass length can be chosen from 0.5 to 2.5 m with 0.5 m increments in between, and an image plate is operated as signal detector. The beamline will be opened for user operation around summer 2010.
Design of a high-pressure and high-temperature cell for operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy in heterogeneous catalysis
Authors: Rochet A. , Moizan V. , Briois V. , Pichon C. 
Published: January 2011

A new X-ray absorption cell dedicated to in situ and operando experiments in heterogeneous catalysis has been built and tested. It allows measurement of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) spectra in transmission mode under the flow of various gas mixtures at elevated temperatures (600°C) and pressures (50 bar). The working conditions are representative of phenomena that take place in fixed bed reactors.
Modelling and design of the coherence and imaging beamline I13L at the Diamond Light Source
Authors: Wagner U. H. , Pešić Z. D. , Rau C. 
Published: January 2011

I13L is a 250 m long hard X-ray beamline (6–30 keV) currently under construction at the Diamond Light Source. The beamline comprises two independent experimental endstations: one for imaging in direct space using X-ray microscopy and one for imaging in reciprocal space using coherent diffraction-based imaging techniques. This paper will discuss the coherence branch, where well-defined coherence properties and preservation of the coherent flux are important. We will demonstrate the impact of optical components and stability onto the beamline performance, using phase-space-based ray-tracing techniques. The implications onto the beamline design will be demonstrated using our in-house build quadruple crystal monochromator as an example.
Antioxidant supplementation and endurance training: Win or loss?
Authors: Gross Micah , Baum Oliver , Hoppeler Hans 
Published: January 2011

AbstractTypically, free radicals are thought of as perpetrators of cell damage, ageing, even cancer, whereas antioxidants are seen as the defence against these threats. Accordingly, antioxidants are among the most common sports supplements used by amateur and professional athletes. However, the sensibility of this practice has recently been challenged in the scientific literature. This article briefly summarizes both positive and negative physiological effects of free radicals and antioxidants, culminating with emphasis on the signalling roles played by free radicals during training adaptations and the ability of superfluous antioxidants to weaken these desired signals, as revealed in several recent publications. The aim of this article is not to explicitly condemn antioxidant supplementation by athletes, but to underscore complexity of the situation and to champion efforts to achieve a deeper understanding of circumstances (e.g. dosage, timing, and setting) that might deem antioxidant supplementation as either largely beneficial or largely detrimental for endurance athletes in training.
Sink strength as a determinant of dry matter partitioning in the whole plant
Authors: Marcelis L.F.M. 
Published: January 2011

Dry matter partitioning is the end result of the flow of assimilates from source organs via a transport path to the sink organs. The dry matter partitioning among the sinks of a plant is primarily regulated by the sinks themselves. The effect of source strength on dry matter partitioning is often not a direct one, but indirect via the formation of sink organs. Although the translocation rate of assimilates may depend on the transport path, the transport path is only of minor importance for the regulation of dry matter partitioning at the whole plant level.
To understand the regulation of dry matter partitioning by the sinks, a parameter like sink strength is needed that describes a sink's ability to influence assimilate import and is independent of the rest of the plant. The term sink strength can be defined as the competitive ability of an organ to attract assimilates. However, there is much debate and confusion about the term sink strength because this term is often not clearly defined. Sink strength has been proposed to be the product of sink size and sink activity. Although cell number is often considered as a suitable measure of sink size, it appears not always to be an important determinant of sink size. Moreover, sink strength may depend on sink age rather than sink size.
A model for dry matter partitioning into generative plant parts, which is based on sink strengths of the organs, is described. The potential growth rate (potential capacity to accumulate assimilates) has been shown to be an important parameter that quantitatively reflects the sink strength of an organ. The potential growth rates of the plant's organs are not static but change dynamically. The potential growth rate of a fruit is a function of both its age and temperature. For several crops it has been shown that the dry matter partitioning into an organ can be quantitatively described as a function of its potential growth rate relative to that of the other plant organs.