bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Significance of beliefs and values in predicting fertility and contraceptive behaviour in Pakistan
Authors: Zafar M. I. , Ford N. , Ankomah A. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryA comparative study of 1100 women aged 25–45 years, users and non-users of modern methods of contraception, in the urban centres of Lahore and Faisalabad was conducted in 1991. The objective of the study was to investigate reproductive behaviour and the extent to which social, cultural and attitudinal variables, such as beliefs and values about family life, religiosity and fatalism, influence the fertility decision-making process. Preferences for smaller families were found to be consistently associated with modern attitudes and behaviour towards family and religious values and obligations. Family income, husband's occupation and religiosity offered no explanation of reproductive behaviour. It is concluded that cultural setting and tradition exert an important influence on reproductive behaviour, independent of economic development.
Early marriage among rural and urban females of South India
Authors: Sivaram M. , Richard J. , Rao P. S. S. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryData on 2972 marriages in rural areas and 1180 marriages in urban areas of North Arcot Ambedkar district of South India, during 1982–88, were analysed. The mean age at marriage of females was 18·6 in the rural and 19·6 in the urban area. The proportion of females married before attaining the legal age of 18 years was higher among the rural community (36·8%) than in the urban community (28·9%). Univariate analysis revealed an association between early age at marriage and the socioeconomic variables religion, caste, consanguinity, marital distance, spousal age difference, education and occupation of both bride and bridegroom, and socioeconomic status of the family. Multivariate analysis showed an independent relationship of marital distance and bridegroom's occupation with early age at marriage of females in the rural area alone and the bridegroom's education in the urban area alone. Consanguinity, spousal age difference and bride's education were found to be independently related with early age at marriage of females in both rural and urban areas.
Effects of inbreeding on marriage payment in North India
Authors: Badaruddoza  , Afzal M. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryThis study examines the relationships between consanguineous marriages and marriage payment, using data from two Muslim qaums living in urban and rural areas in Aligarh District, Uttar Pradesh, North India. Qaum and locality were found to have no significant association with the dowry system. Marriage payment is less common in consanguineous than in non-consanguineous marriages. However, the association between marriage payment and the type of marriage is significant at p<0·001. The dowry system is more prevalent among the higher socioeconomic groups, while the bride-wealth system is more common among the lower socioeconomic groups.
Factors affecting choice of sterilisation among low income women in Paraíba, Brazil
Authors: Rodrigues José , Moji Kazuhiko 
Published: July 2008

SummaryDespite the absence of a family planning programme, the prevalence of sterilisation in Brazil has increased substantially, such that it is used by relatively young women in poor areas of the country. Sterilisation is influenced more by the characteristics of the health service than by socioeconomic characteristics of the population.
Androgen effects on women's gendered behaviour
Authors: Udry J. Richard , Morris Naomi M. , Kovenock Judith 
Published: July 2008

SummaryTest of the applicability of the hormonal theory of sex-dimorphic behaviour to adult women is achieved in this study by assembling measures of prenatal and adult androgen exposure, and a broad measure of gendered behaviour on a sample of white women aged 27–30. Androgen exposure in the second (and no other) trimester of fetal life, combined with and in interaction with adult androgens, masculinises women's behaviour and explains a substantial proportion of the within-sex variance in women's adult gendered behaviour.
Birth intervals regarding infant mortality and extramarital reproduction in a Spanish rural community
Authors: Fuster V. , Jiménez A. , Morales B. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryRecord linking provided information on the complete reproductive schedules of a sample of 1102 couples with at least two children born alive from a rural Spanish community characterised by very high extramarital reproduction. Birth spacing was analysed considering final family size as well as the legitimate–illegitimate status and sex of the newborn, and survival of the preceding sibling.
Subsequent pregnancy affects morbidity of previous child
Authors: Bøhler Erik , Bergström Staffan 
Published: July 2008

SummaryA prospective study of 113 children in rural Bhutan registered their morbidity and weight and their mothers' subsequent pregnancies, monthly for 32 months during the children's first 3 years of life. Children whose mothers had a subsequent birth interval of 18–30 months had an incidence of diarrhoea during the subsequent pregnancy 50% higher than their matched cohort whose mothers did not become pregnant (p=0·02). The relative risk for diarrhoea calculated from pooled child months was 1·51. Children whose mothers became pregnant also tended to have a higher incidence of skin infections.Children, whose mothers were pregnant when they terminated breastfeeding, experienced an increased incidence of diarrhoea around weaning (p=0·01). Children weaned at the same age from non-pregnant mothers did not show increased morbidity.This study, for the first time, relates observations of children's morbidity directly in time to the occurrence of the mother's subsequent pregnancy, and provides evidence of a causal relationship between a moderately short subsequent birth interval and a concurrent increase in morbidity for the study child.
Birth, marriage and death in illegitimacy: a study in northern Portugal
Authors: Abade Augusto , Bertranpetit Jaume 
Published: July 2008

SummaryIn populations in which the frequency of illegitimacy is high, illegitimates and legitimates may be subjected to different demographic and social pressures, with social and genetic consequences. A rural population from north-east Portugal is studied and variables from birth, marriage and death records are compared according to the legitimacy of the individuals. The analysis shows important differential demographic patterns in infant and child mortality and in migration prior to and related to marriage, especially in women. Some changes over time and gender differences are also evident.
Sleep habits and psychosomatic health complaints of bank workers in a megacity in Japan
Authors: Motohashi Yutaka , Takano Takehito 
Published: July 2008

SummaryThe relationship between sleep habits and psychosomatic health complaints was investigated by a questionnaire study in 148 bank workers in Tokyo. Daily bedtime was more flexible than daily rising time, and both mean bedtime and rising time tended to be earlier with increasing age. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that psychosomatic health complaints of sleep disturbances, fatigue, digestive troubles, and depressive mood were significantly associated with sleep habits and perceived mental stress.
Childlessness and Marital Instability: A Re-Examination of the Evidence
Authors: Gibson Colin 
Published: July 2008

SummaryEarlier studies have queried whether divorce was associated with childlessness. Evidence from surveys of broken marriages passing through the divorce courts of England and Wales indicates that infertility and divorce are not related in the way supposed. When the duration of de facto marriage is controlled, divorcing couples have a higher rate of fertility than that found within those who remain married. The former are also more likely to have a larger family size within the same period of time. Similar findings emerge from data relating to broken marriages resorting to the magistrates' courts. These results are partly a consequence of the trend whereby working-class marriages—with their earlier start of a family and larger completed family size—form an increasing proportion of all divorcing couples.Survey results showed that within a divorcing population a shorter period of cohabitation resulted in a higher level of infertility. High infertility rates were also associated with later age at marriage and high social class. Current trends suggest that an increasing proportion of divorcing couples will be childless. It is concluded that there is need for a deeper knowledge of possible relationships, and their causes, in this and other areas of married life.
Implication of a Time-Dependent Model of Sexual Intercourse within the Menstrual Cycle
Authors: Dobbins J. G. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryA time-dependent model of the probability of sexual intercourse, where the probability increases as the time from last intercourse increases, can produce waves in the expected frequency of sexual intercourse on the various dates of the menstrual cycle. These waves occur when the time-dependent model is linked with a period of abstinence, such as is usually found in most societies during the time of the menses. Previously, such waves have been attributed to cyclic hormonal changes in women without considering the full implication of a time-dependent model of sexual intercourse.
Decline in Coital Rates with Spouses' Ages and Duration of Marriage
Authors: James William H. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryCross-sectional and longitudinal study of a large sample confirms that mean marital coital rates decline very rapidly over the first year of marriage. They seem to halve over the first year of marriage, and then they take perhaps another 20 years to halve again. This pattern of decline is interpreted as evidence against the suggestion that coital rates are closely related to female hormone levels.The higher correlation of marital coital rates with wife's age than with husband's age, it is argued here, is because wife's age is more closely associated than husband's age with duration of marriage (here seen as the most important of these three variables in the determination of coital rates). This is because of the substantially smaller variance of wife's age at marriage than husband's age at marriage.
Attitudes of Persons at Risk for Fabry's Disease Towards Predictive Tests and Genetic Counselling
Authors: Sørensen S. A. , Hasholt Lis 
Published: July 2008

SummaryAdult members of a kindred with various cases of Fabry's disease were asked by questionnaire about their attitudes and behaviour towards prospective genetic counselling. All individuals were aware of the fact that the disease occurred in their family and that it is hereditary, but none had a correct understanding of its inheritance. The disease was considered to be severe and the general attitude was that it should be prevented. Elective abortion after prenatal diagnosis was recommended by the majority, but some would prefer to abstain from having children. Prospective counselling was received positively even though it provoked anxiety in some of the counselled persons. The counselling has so far had the result that two heterozygous females asked for prenatal investigation. But when affected male fetuses were detected after prenatal diagnosis abortion was rejected in both cases. The reasons for this were not considered to be typical. It is concluded that prospective genetic counselling for Fabry's disease should be offered to other families, even though it may be expected that some will choose not to prevent further cases.
Mixing of two thermal fields emitted from line sources in turbulent channel flow
Authors: COSTA-PATRY E. , MYDLARSKI L. 
Published: July 2008

The interaction of two passive scalars (both temperature in air) emitted from concentrated line sources in fully developed high-aspect-ratio turbulent channel flow is studied. The thermal fields are measured using cold-wire thermometry in a flow with a Reynolds number (Uh/ν) of 10200.The transverse total root-mean-square (RMS) temperature profiles are a function of the separation distance between the line sources (d/h), their average wall-normal position (ysav/h), and the downstream location (x/h), measured relative to the line sources. Similarly, profiles of the non-dimensional form of the scalar covariance, the correlation coefficient (ρ), are a function of the same parameters and quantify the mixing of the two scalars.The transverse profiles of the correlation coefficient are generally largest at the edges of the thermal plume and smallest in its core. When the line sources are not symmetrically located about the channel centreline, the minimum in the correlation coefficient transverse profiles drifts towards the (closer) channel wall. For source locations that are equidistant from the channel centreline, the minimum correlation coefficient occurs at the centreline, due to the underlying symmetry of this geometry. The initial downstream evolution of the correlation coefficient depends significantly on d/h, similar to that in homogeneous turbulence. However, there is always a dependence on ysav/h, which increases in importance as both the downstream distance is increased and the wall is approached. Lastly, the correlation coefficient profiles tend towards positive values in the limit of large downstream distances (relative to the source separation), though further measurements farther downstream are required to confirm the exact value(s) of their asymptotic limit(s).Spectral analysis of the cospectra and coherency spectra indicates that the large scales evolve more rapidly than the small ones. Furthermore, the fast evolution of the large scales was most evident when the sources were located close to the wall. This presumably derives from the large-scale nature of turbulence production, which is strong in the near-wall region.
Lymphangiomatosis: a differential diagnosis of lytic lesions of the temporal bone
Authors: Naguib M B , Al-Jazan N , Hashem T 
Published: July 2008

AbstractObjective:We report a histologically proved case of lymphangiomatosis of the skull, involving the temporal bone and presenting as multiple lytic bone lesions.Method:A case report and a review of the literature concerning lymphangiomatosis are presented.Results:Lymphangiomatosis affecting bones is a rare disorder caused by a congenital malformation of the lymphatic system, resulting in diffuse proliferation of the lymphatic channels and involving bones, parenchymal organs and soft tissue. Involved bones show massive osteolysis and progressive, localised bone resorption.Conclusion:Lymphangiomatosis should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of lytic lesions of the skull.
High-yield amplification ofCryptosporidium parvumin interferon γ receptor knockout mice
Authors: von OETTINGEN J. , NATH-CHOWDHURY M. , WARD B. J. , RODLOFF A. C. , ARROWOOD M. J. , NDAO M. 
Published: July 2008

SUMMARYTo date, large-scale production ofCryptosporidium parvumoocysts has only been achieved by amplification in neonatal calves and sheep. Many laboratories currently depend on supplies from external sources and store oocysts for prolonged periods which results in progressive loss of viability. Six to 8-week-old interferon γ receptor knockout (IFNγR-KO) mice on a C57BL/6 background were inoculated by gavage (2000 oocysts/animal). Fecal pellets were collected daily from 7 days post-infection (p.i.) up to 2 weeks p.i. Intestinal oocyst yield was assessed at days 11, 12 and 14 p.i. by homogenization of intestinal tissues. Ether extraction and one or more NaCl flotations were used to purify oocysts. Total recoveries averaged 2·6×106oocysts/mouse from fecal material and 3·8×107oocysts/mouse from intestinal tissues. Overall, 2·3×109purified oocysts were obtained from 60 mice. Recovered oocysts were capable of sporulation and were shown to be infectious bothin vitroandin vivo. Oocyst amplification was achieved in only 11–14 days with minimal expense. The simplicity of this method presents a practical alternative for the routine passage, maintenance and storage ofC. parvumin biomedical laboratories.
Foodborne outbreak of gastroenteritis due to Norovirus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Authors: SALA M. R. , ARIAS C. , DOMÍNGUEZ A. , BARTOLOMÉ R. , MUNTADA J. M. 
Published: July 2008

SUMMARYVibrio parahaemolyticus and Norovirus have been recognized as the cause of sporadic cases or outbreaks of diarrhoeal illness in association with the ingestion of raw or improperly cooked seafood. This report describes a foodborne outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by both Norovirus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus following the consumption of raw seafood in a restaurant in Terrassa (Catalonia, Spain) in September 2005. Measures are needed to reduce contamination of raw seafood. Consumers can reduce the risk of foodborne illness by avoiding consumption of raw or undercooked food.
FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany: enhanced surveillance improved timeliness and detection
Authors: WILLIAMS C. J. , SCHENKEL K. , ECKMANNS T. , ALTMANN D. , KRAUSE G. 
Published: July 2008

SUMMARYEnhanced surveillance for infectious disease events, with accelerated routine reporting and daily supplementary reports, was undertaken during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. We evaluated the surveillance outputs, reporting intervals and detection of World Cup-relevant events for the enhanced system. Outbreak numbers for measles, Norovirus and Campylobacter were significantly higher than in previous years, but all increases were explained by prior trends. The median interval (disease onset to receipt at national centre) fell from 17 days in 2005 to 12 days in 2006. Detection of World Cup-relevant events was 44% (8/18) in the routine system and 77% (14/18) in supplementary reports. We did not identify any significant effect on infectious disease epidemiology relating to the FIFA 2006 World Cup. Daily reporting improved timeliness, and supplementary reporting improved relevant event detection. Enhancing existing systems, without the addition of syndromic surveillance, can be an effective approach to mass-event surveillance.
Varicella paediatric hospitalizations in Spain
Authors: GUILLÉN J. M. , SAMANIEGO-COLMENERO M. DE LA LUZ , HERNÁNDEZ-BARRERA V. , GIL A. 
Published: July 2008

SUMMARYVaricella is a very common childhood disease responsible for an important number of hospitalizations every year in Spain. The aim of this study was to assess the burden of chickenpox hospitalizations in Spain in the 7-year period between 1999 and 2005. Data of hospital discharges relating to varicella were obtained from the Conjunto Mínimo Básico de Datos (CMBD), the Spanish surveillance system for hospital data. All paediatric hospitalizations for primary varicella that occurred between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2005 were selected. The hospitalization rate for the 7-year study period was 23·06 hospitalizations/100 000 population. The highest incidences of hospitalizations were observed in the youngest groups (60·79 and 55·65/100 000 population for ages 0–12 months and 1–2 years respectively). Nineteen deaths were reported during the study period. The median length of stay in hospital was 4 days (interquartile range 3–7 days). Despite the availability of effective varicella vaccines, chickenpox remains an important cause of hospitalizations in Spain.
Use of antibiotics and risk factors for carriage ofStreptococcus pneumoniae: a longitudinal household study in the United Kingdom
Authors: PEBODY R. G. , MORGAN O. , CHOI Y. , GEORGE R. , HUSSAIN M. , ANDREWS N. 
Published: July 2008

SUMMARYThis study aimed to identify risk factors and assess the impact of coincidental antibiotic therapy on carriage ofStreptococcus pneumoniae. Index children from birth to 3 years and their households were recruited from primary health-care registers in four UK general practices. Nasopharyngeal swabs were taken monthly from study participants ten times between October 2001 and July 2002. Multilevel random-effect models were used to adjust for statistical dependence between repeated measurements and family clustering of carriage. Carriage results were available for 3753 swabs from 489 individuals in 121 families. Crude prevalence of carriage was 25%. On multivariable analysis, risk of carriage was reduced by antibiotic use the previous month [odds ratio (OR) 0·34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·22–0·52], but increased if a child attended day care for >20 h per week (OR 2·52, 95% CI 1·41–4·52). Taking antibiotics significantly reduces the risk of carriage the following month in a setting with a low prevalence of pneumococcal antimicrobial resistance.
Environmental and trade policies: some methodological lessons
Authors: Smith V. Kerry , Espinosa J. Andrès 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTThis paper provides an overview of recent research on the interconnections between environmental and trade policies. It describes how the assumptions of these models can be important to the conclusions derived on the gains from coordination. The Harrison–Rutherford–Wooton CGE model of the European Union is used to illustrate the importance of these issues. This model was extended to include three air pollutants and their health effects as non-separable influences on household preferences in each region described by the model. The results suggest that the conventional assumption of separability in preferences between marketed and non-marketed goods is central to conclusions about the importance of coordination of these policies.
Natural resource degradation effects of poverty and population growth are largely policy-induced: the case of Colombia
Authors: Heath John , Binswanger Hans 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTThe sustainability of natural resource use is influenced by population pressure, but this exercises a much less critical impact than the overall policy framework. In Colombia, various agricultural and other policies whose effect is to constrain the poor's access to land encourage environmental degradation. A case is made in favour of the new land reform process that Colombia is launching.
Measuring sustainable development: progress on indicators
Authors: Pearce David , Hamilton Kirk , Atkinson Giles 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTThe search for sustainability indicators should be guided by a theory of sustainable development (SD). In this paper we investigate two such theoretical frameworks and the indicators that they suggest. Indicators associated with weak sustainability are characterized by aggregative indicators such as green national income. We conclude, however, that a more promising offshoot of green accounting is measures of genuine savings (i.e. savings adjusted for loss of assets). To achieve SD, genuine savings rates must not be persistently negative. Strong sustainability indicators accord a more central role to the conservation of critical natural assets within the broader goal of prudently managing a nation's portfolio of assets over time. We discuss two approaches—carrying capacity and resilience—and conclude that, while measures of resilience are potentially attractive, more research is required regarding the resilience–SD link. However, an important conclusion that we can make is that, even in an economy operating under a strong sustainability regime, genuine savings are still key indicators of SD and are complementary to measures of changes in stocks of critical natural assets.