bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of multifetal pregnancies
Authors: Kor‐anantakul Ounjai , Suwanrath Chitkasaem , Suntharasaj Thitima , Getpook Chatpavit , Leetanaporn Roengsak 
Published: January 2007

AbstractAim:  To determine the outcomes of multifetal pregnancies and to compare maternal and neonatal complications between spontaneously conceived and assisted reproductive therapy.Methods:  A retrospective analysis was conducted of the information from medical records relating to all multifetal pregnancies. The outcomes were analyzed and used for a comparison between spontaneous and assisted multifetal pregnancies.Results:  There were 387 multifetal pregnancies during the study period, which was 1.3% of all the deliveries; 334 cases (86.3%) were spontaneous conceptions and 53 cases (13.7%) were the result of assisted reproductive therapy. Higher‐order fetuses (≥3) represented 8% of all multifetal pregnancies, 13% in the spontaneous group and 87% in the assisted group. The overall cesarean delivery rate was 73.9%. The assisted reproductive therapy group had a cesarean rate of 90.6% compared with 71.3% in the spontaneous group (P = 0.008). The assisted multifetal pregnancy group had more preterm labors and a longer maternal hospital stay than the spontaneous group. One maternal death occurred in the assisted group. The main causes of early neonatal death were prematurity, infection and congenital malformation. The newborns in the assisted group had more complications than the spontaneous group; most notable were respiratory distress syndrome, newborn intensive care admission, infection and longer hospital stay (6 days vs 15 days, P < 0.001). More complications occurred in higher‐order fetuses than with twins.Conclusions:  Assisted multifetal pregnancies were more likely to be delivered by cesarean section and had a higher rate of higher‐order fetuses, preterm birth and neonatal prematurity‐related complications with a longer hospital stay in both mothers and newborns, than spontaneous multifetal pregnancies.
Cerebral venous thrombosis and hepatic venous thrombosis during pregnancy
Authors: Altunayoglu Vildan , Turedi Suleyman , Gunduz Abdulkadir , Karaca Yunus , Akdogan Remzi Adnan 
Published: January 2007

AbstractCerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) and Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS) are rarely encountered thrombotic diseases of two different vascular systems. A 20‐year‐old woman in the 14th week of pregnancy was brought to the emergency department with complaints of sudden headache and loss of vision. Thrombosis in the left transverse and sigmoid sinus was demonstrated at MR angiography. She was diagnosed with BCS by using hepatic Doppler ultrasonography after an elevation of liver enzymes. Although CVT and BCS are rarely seen during pregnancy, they need emergency treatment because of high mortality.
Placental mesenchymal dysplasia
Authors: Kinoshita Toshihiko , Fukaya Satoru , Yasuda Yutaka , Itoh Motohiro 
Published: January 2007

AbstractPlacental mesenchymal dysplasia is a very rare disorder in which the placenta is enlarged and contains cystic villi and dilated vasculature. The authors present a new case report of placental mesenchymal dysplasia with severe fetal growth restriction.
Sonographic features of hemivertebra at 13 weeks' gestation
Authors: Chen Min , Chan Ben , Lam Tina Poy Wing , Shek Tony , Lee Chin Peng , Tang Mary Hoi Yin 
Published: January 2007

AbstractHemivertebra is a rare congenital spinal disorder where only one side of the vertebral body develops, leading to deformation of the spine, such as scoliosis or kyphosis. Previous reports suggest that the diagnosis may be based on antenatal sonographic examination after 14 weeks. We present the sonographic features of a fetus with solitary hemivertebra at 13 weeks' gestation confirmed by postmortem babygram, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and pathological examination. It shows that the condition may manifest in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Regional population‐based study on pregnancy outcomes in women with diabetes mellitus in Japan
Authors: Kodama Yuki , Sameshima Hiroshi , Ikenoue Tsuyomu 
Published: January 2007

AbstractAim:  We compared pregnancy outcomes in diabetic women with the background population in Miyazaki, Japan.Methods:  In 1998, we started the regional, population‐based, peer‐review conference to investigate the possible causes of perinatal deaths. For this purpose, at least one obstetrician and one neonatologist congregated from each institution (one tertiary and five secondary perinatal centers). A retrospective, population‐based study was conducted in a total of 53 862 deliveries during 1999–2003. Among them, there were 248 perinatal deaths including six deaths in association with diabetes mellitus (DM). The number of diabetic pregnancies was estimated to be 381 during the study period. Perinatal mortality was compared between the diabetic women and background population by χ2‐test.Results:  The perinatal mortality rate in diabetic women was 15.7 per 1000 deliveries, which was compared with 4.6 per 1000 in the background population (P = 0.003; odds ratio: 3.5; 95% confidence interval: 1.5–7.9). Four of the six perinatal deaths in diabetes were sudden intrauterine demises after 37 weeks' gestation, and the others were neonatal deaths of congenital heart anomaly or extreme prematurity. Most deaths were attributable to either undiagnosed or insufficient perinatal management.Conclusions:  In an unselected population in Japan, diabetic women have 3.5 times the reported risk of perinatal mortality of the general population. Further improvements in the diagnosis and management of DM during pregnancy are required.
Giant ovarian cancer weighing 100 kg with poor prognosis
Authors: Yanazume Yumi , Yoshinaga Mitsuhiro , Yanazume Shintaro , Kamikihara Tetsuya , Tokunaga Makoto , Kamio Masaki , Douchi Tsutomu 
Published: January 2007

AbstractWe encountered a patient with giant ovarian cancer with a tumor weight of 100 kg. The patient's girth measured 198 cm after approximately 4 years' duration, and she complained of dyspnea and inability to walk. Adnectomy was performed with intensive intraoperative monitoring. The ovarian cancer was entirely adherent to the parietal peritoneum. However, 10 h after adnectomy, she died of massive abdominal bleeding from extremely redundant parietal peritoneum caused by disseminated intravascular coagulation.
Serous ovarian carcinoma recurring as a heterologous carcinosarcoma
Authors: Ferrandina Gabriella , Carbone Arnaldo , Zannoni Gian Franco , Martinelli Enrica , Testa Antonia Carla , Gallotta Valerio , De Ninno Maria , Scambia Giovanni 
Published: January 2007

AbstractOnly two cases of recurrence of heterologous carcinosarcoma from adenocarcinoma of the ovary have been documented in the published literature. We report a case of serous ovarian carcinoma recurring as a heterologous carcinosarcoma. The immunohistochemical analysis of several biological parameters in primary ovarian adenocarcinoma and recurrent carcinosarcoma has been also performed.
Proteorhodopsin photosystem gene clusters exhibit co‐evolutionary trends and shared ancestry among diverse marine microbial phyla
Authors: McCarren Jay , DeLong Edward F. 
Published: January 2007

SummarySince the recent discovery of retinylidene proteins in marine bacteria (proteorhodopsins), the estimated abundance and diversity of this gene family has expanded rapidly. To explore proteorhodopsin photosystem evolutionary and distributional trends, we identified and compared 16 different proteorhodopsin‐containing genome fragments recovered from naturally occurring bacterioplankton populations. In addition to finding several deep‐branching proteorhodopsin sequences, proteorhodopsins were found in novel taxonomic contexts, including a betaproteobacterium and a planctomycete. Approximately one‐third of the proteorhodopsin‐containing genome fragments analysed, as well as a number of recently reported marine bacterial whole genome sequences, contained a linked set of genes required for biosynthesis of the rhodopsin chromophore, retinal. Phylogenetic analyses of the retinal biosynthetic genes suggested their co‐evolution and probable coordinated lateral gene transfer into disparate lineages, including Euryarchaeota, Planctomycetales, and three different proteobacterial lineages. The lateral transfer and retention of genes required to assemble a functional proteorhodopsin photosystem appears to be a coordinated and relatively frequent evolutionary event. Strong selection pressure apparently acts to preserve these light‐dependent photosystems in diverse marine microbial lineages.
Sulfate‐reducing prokaryotic communities in two deep hypersaline anoxic basins in the Eastern Mediterranean deep sea
Authors: Van Der Wielen Paul W. J. J. , Heijs Sander K. 
Published: January 2007

SummaryIn the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, deep hypersaline anoxic basins (DHABs) and deep‐sea sediment contain anoxic environments where sulfate reduction is an important microbial metabolic process. The objective of this study was to characterize the sulfate‐reducing community in the brine and interface of the DHABs L'Atalante and Urania based on a phylogenetic analysis of the dissimilatory sulfite reductase gene (dsrA). Results demonstrated that the sulfate‐reducing community was diverse, except for the sulfidogenic brine of the Urania basin. The similarity of the dsrA sequences between different environments was very low demonstrating that each environment had a unique sulfate‐reducing community. Sequences had 67.6–93.3% similarity to dsrA sequences from GenBank database and were mostly related to the δ‐proteobacteria. Each environment was dominated by a different family within the δ‐proteobacteria except for the Urania interface, which was dominated by sequences related to the Gram‐positive Peptococcaceae. We conclude that sulfate‐reducing communities inhabiting the L'Atalante and Urania basins are highly diverse with low similarities to each other and contain a sulfate‐reducing species composition that is very different from sulfate‐reducing species compositions in previously studied ecosystems.
Evidence for hydrothermal Archaea within the basaltic flanks of the East Pacific Rise
Authors: Ehrhardt Christopher J. , Haymon Rachel M. , Lamontagne Michael G. , Holden Patricia A. 
Published: January 2007

SummaryLittle is known about the fluids or the microbial communities present within potentially vast hydrothermal reservoirs contained in still‐hot volcanic ocean crust beneath the flanks of the mid‐ocean ridge. During Alvin dives in 2002, organic material attached to basalt was collected at low, near‐ambient temperatures from an abyssal hill fault scarp in 0.5 Ma lithosphere on the western ridge flank of the East Pacific Rise. Mineral analysis by X‐ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy revealed high‐temperature (> 110°C) phases chalcopyrite (Cu5FeS4) and 1C pyrrhotite (Fe1‐xS) within the fault scarp materials. A molecular survey of archaeal genes encoding 16S rRNA identified a diverse hyperthermophilic community, including groups within Crenarchaeota, Euryarchaeota, and Korarchaeota. We propose that the sulfide, metals and archaeal communities originated within a basalt‐hosted subseafloor hydrothermal habitat beneath the East Pacific Rise ridge flank and were transported to the seafloor during a recent episode of hydrothermal venting from the abyssal hill fault. Additionally, inferred metabolisms from the fault scarp community suggest that an ecologically unique high‐temperature archaeal biosphere may thrive beneath the young East Pacific Rise ridge flank and that abyssal hill fault scarps may present new opportunities for sampling for this largely unexplored microbial habitat.
A prospective evaluation of stapled haemorrhoidopexy/rectal mucosectomy in the management of 3rd and 4th degree haemorrhoids
Authors: Slawik S. , Kenefick N. , Greenslade G. L. , Dixon A. R. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractObjective  We have audited our 5 years experience of circumferential‐stapled haemorrhoidopexy (PPH).Method  A prospectively collected electronic data base of our 5‐year experience to September 2005 has been examined.Results  A total of 357 consecutive patients (220 – 62% women, median age 46 years; range 28–92) with symptomatic third‐ and fourth‐degree haemorrhoids (ratio 222:135) have undergone a stapled haemorrhoidopexy/rectal mucosectomy. One hundred and thirty‐two (37%) had failed previous banding; 42 (12%) had undergone a Milligan–Morgan haemorrhoidectomy in the past. All but one was performed under general anaesthetic. Mean duration of surgery was 15 min (range 11–40); 299 (84%) were planned day cases (three patients were admitted overnight for pain relief (2) and retention of urine) and 57 were planned successful overnight stays. Reactive postoperative bleeding requiring a blood transfusion occurred in three patients (0.8%): one returned to theatre (0.2%). Three patients (0.8%) had a secondary haemorrhage requiring a hospital visit, one was admitted overnight. Four patients complaining of severe pain were managed in the community. Transient urgency was reported in 92 patients (26%); 58 (63%) were men, faecal impaction 4 (1.1%), minor staple line stenosis requiring dilatation 5 (1.4%), peri‐anal sepsis from an associated untreated chronic anal fissure 1 (0.2%). Normal work was resumed between 3 and 31 days (median 7). Five patients re‐presented with recurrent symptoms between 14 & 18 months: further treatment comprised a repeat PPH in three (one was very painful), banding 1 and reassurance alone. A further patient re‐presented with minor soiling which responded to physiotherapy.Conclusion  Stapled haemorrhoidopexy/rectal mucosectomy is a safe, effective and predictable treatment of third‐ and fourth‐ degree haemorrhoids and in the majority of patients can be carried out on a day case basis.
Magnetic resonance imaging for preoperative staging of rectal cancer in clinical practice: high accuracy in predicting circumferential margin with clinical benefit
Authors: Videhult P. , Smedh K. , Lundin P. , Kraaz W. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractObjective  The aims were to determine agreement between staging of rectal cancer made by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histopathological examination and the influence of MRI on choice of radiotherapy (RT) and surgical procedure.Method  In this retrospective audit, preoperative MRI was performed on 91 patients who underwent bowel resection, with 93% having total mesorectal excision. Tumour stage according to mural penetration, nodal status and circumferential resection margin (mCRM) involvement was assessed and compared with histopathology.Results  Five radiologists interpreted the images. Overall agreement between MRI and histopathology for T stage was 66%. The greatest difficulty was in distinguishing between T1, T2 and minimal T3 tumours. The accuracy for mCRM (MRI) was 86% (78/91),with an interobserver variation between 80% and 100%. In the 13 cases with no agreement between mCRM and pCRM (pathological), seven had long‐term RT and nine en bloc resections, indicating that the margins initially were involved with an even higher accuracy for mCRM. Preoperative short‐term RT was routine, but based on MRI findings, choice of RT was affected in 29 cases (32%); 17 patients had no RT and 12 long‐term RT. The surgical procedure was affected in 17 cases (19%) with planned perirectal en bloc resections in all. CRM was involved (≤ 1 mm) in 14.7% of the 34 cases in which MRI had an effect upon choice of RT and/or surgery compared with 8.8% of the remaining 57 cases where it had no impact.Conclusion  Magnetic resonance imaging predicted CRM with high accuracy in rectal cancer. MRI could be used as a clinical guidance with high reliability as indicated by the low figures of histopathologically involved CRM.
Management of diverticular fistulae to the female genital tract
Authors: Hjern F. , Goldberg S. M. , Johansson C. , Parker S. C. , Mellgren A. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractObjective  Fistulae to the female genital tract are an infrequent but severe complication of diverticular disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate treatment and outcome in patients with diverticular colo‐genital fistulae.Method  Sixty women treated for diverticular fistulae (DF) to the female genital tract during 1992–2004 were identified. Clinic and operative charts were reviewed. Mean age was 70 years and mean follow‐up time after surgery was 1 year.Results  Most common presenting symptoms were vaginal discharge of faeces or gas (95% of patients) and abdominal pain (43%). About 75% of patients had undergone a hysterectomy. Forty‐six patients underwent at least one radiological contrast study and the fistula was demonstrated in 35 (76%) patients. Fifty‐seven patients had surgery, and findings included colo‐vaginal fistulae (n = 47), colo‐uterine fistulae (n = 2) and multiple fistulae involving vagina and other organs (n = 8). A sigmoid resection and primary anastomosis was performed in 51 and a Hartmann procedure with colostomy in six patients. Sixteen (28%) patients experienced morbidity after surgery, including anastomotic dehiscence (n = 4) and ureteric injury (n = 3). There was no mortality.Conclusion  Diverticular fistulae to the female genital tract usually occur in elderly patients with a prior hysterectomy. Radiological contrast studies demonstrate the fistulous tract in most cases. Sigmoid resection and primary anastomosis results in a satisfactory outcome in the majority of patients.
Examining the Relationships between Capital, Risk and Efficiency in European Banking
Authors: Altunbas Yener , Carbo Santiago , Gardener Edward P.M. , Molyneux Philip 
Published: January 2007

Abstract This paper analyses the relationship between capital, risk and efficiency for a large sample of European banks between 1992 and 2000. In contrast to the established US evidence we do not find a positive relationship between inefficiency and bank risk‐taking. Inefficient European banks appear to hold more capital and take on less risk. Empirical evidence is found showing the positive relationship between risk on the level of capital (and liquidity), possibly indicating regulators' preference for capital as a mean of restricting risk‐taking activities. We also find evidence that the financial strength of the corporate sector has a positive influence in reducing bank risk‐taking and capital levels. There are no major differences in the relationships between capital, risk and efficiency for commercial and savings banks although there are for co‐operative banks. In the case of co‐operative banks we do find that capital levels are inversely related to risks and we find that inefficient banks hold lower levels of capital. Some of these relationships also vary depending on whether banks are among the most or least efficient operators.
The Determinants of Financial Structure: New Insights from Business Start‐ups
Authors: Huyghebaert Nancy , Van de Gucht Linda M. 
Published: January 2007

Abstract Business start‐ups lack prior history and reputation, face high failure risk, and have highly concentrated ownership. The resulting information and incentive problems, combined with entrepreneurial private benefits of control, affect initial financing decisions. This paper examines simultaneously the impact of these issues on leverage, debt mix and maturity. We find that start‐ups with high adverse selection and risk shifting problems contract less bank debt but compensate with other debt sources. Start‐ups in growing industries have lower leverage, but raise more bank debt. Entrepreneurs with large private control benefits contract less but longer term bank loans to lower the default probability.
A New Econometric Model of Index Arbitrage
Authors: Taylor Nicholas 
Published: January 2007

AbstractThis paper introduces a new econometric model of the mispricing associated with (contemporaneous) differences between spot and futures prices. Like existing models, this model assumes that the level of arbitrage activity is positively related to the magnitude of absolute mispricing. However, unlike existing models, the new model assumes that a parameter governing a key feature of this relationship varies over time. Specifically, several versions of a smooth transition model of mispricing are introduced that each allow the shape of the transition function to be determined by a set of explanatory variables. Using high frequency data from the S&P 500 spot and futures market, the results show that the nature of the non‐linearity in mispricing corresponds to arbitrageur behaviour that varies (in a periodic fashion) over the trading day. This is evinced by the superior fit of the new model of mispricing, in comparison to the results based on existing econometric models of mispricing. Finally, the observed periodicity in arbitrageur behaviour indicates that arbitrageurs prefer to trade during certain periods within the trading day – a result that contradicts the findings obtained when using existing econometric models of mispricing.
Which spinal levels are identified by palpation of the iliac crests and the posterior superior iliac spines?
Authors: Chakraverty Robin , Pynsent Paul , Isaacs Karen 
Published: January 2007

AbstractThe line joining the superior aspect of the iliac crests posteriorly (the intercristal line) is commonly stated to cross the midline at the L4 or L4–5 spinal level on imaging. This study aimed to assess the spinal level identified through palpation of surface anatomy (iliac crests and posterior superior iliac spines) in adults and the level of agreement compared with the intercristal line identified through imaging. The study participants included consecutive adult patients undergoing prone fluoroscopically guided spinal injections for chronic low back pain at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham, between April and July 2004. Prior to fluoroscopic imaging, each patient's surface anatomy was palpated by two examiners and lines created to form the palpated intercristal line and the posterior superior iliac spine line. Following imaging, the mid‐line spinal levels identified by these palpated lines were recorded and the level of agreement (kappa coefficient) with the intercristal line formed by imaging of the iliac crests was assessed. The results showed that although the L4 or L4–5 spinal levels were identified on imaging of the intercristal line in 86.7% of 75 patients (49 female), the intercristal line formed through palpation tended to identify higher levels; the L3 or L3–4 spinal levels in 77.3% of cases and more commonly in females than in males (85.7 vs. 61.5%) and in patients with higher body mass indices. The level of agreement between the two lines was poor (κ = 0.05). The posterior superior iliac spine line identified the S2 spinous process in 51% and the S1 in 44% of 60 (45 female) patients. The results suggest that formation of the intercristal line by palpation of the iliac crests identifies different spinal levels to those identified by imaging and that both methods should be regarded as different instruments. In the clinical situation, it may be more appropriate to consider that palpation of the intercristal line is a guide for identifying the L3 or L3–4 spinal levels rather than the L4 or L4–5 levels, particularly in females and patients with higher body mass indices.