bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Do mating strategies determine genital allometry in African mole rats (Bathyergidae)?
Authors: Kinahan A. A. , Bennett N. C. , Belton L. E. , Bateman P. W. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractAllometry describes the relationship of components of an organism with change in overall body size and has become the focus of numerous studies on the evolution of genitalia. Typically, negative allometry is observed in insects and is explained by stabilizing selection whereas the very few studies on mammals have shown a positive allometric relationship of genitalia in the body size, thought to have arisen as a result of sexual selection. However, all mammal species studied to date are thought to use mainly post‐copulatory mating strategies. Across mammals, however, both pre‐and post‐copulatory strategies occur (although the two are not mutually exclusive). We propose that where pre‐copulatory strategies are mainly used, no reproductive benefits would result from evolving positively allometric genitalia. As such, mammal genitalia are not typically positively allometric but rather allometry will, to a certain degree, be determined by mating strategy. We tested this prediction using four species of African mole rats (Bathyergidae) exhibiting variation in their life histories and mating strategies. Although generally supported, in that positive allometry did not occur in species that we assumed use mainly pre‐mating strategies, positive allometry did not occur in either of the promiscuous species thought to use post‐copulatory strategies. We suggest, therefore, that while mating strategies may tentatively determine genital allometry, whether positively allometric genitalia occur also depends on a number of complex interacting factors. In addition, this study provides further evidence and empirical support for the co‐evolution of male and female genitalia in mammals.
A cross‐cultural comparison of consumer vanity in the People's Republic of China, South Korea and Thailand: an exploratory study
Authors: Watchravesringkan Kittichai (Tu) 
Published: December 2007

AbstractIn response to calls regarding the applicability of marketing scales in other cultures, the current study re‐examined the psychometric properties and measurement equivalence of the consumer vanity scale. The sample consisted of 723 undergraduate participants from China, South Korea and Thailand. Results revealed that the 21‐item, four‐factor (physical concern, physical view, achievement concern and achievement view) model of consumer vanity exhibited a satisfactory condition of psychometric properties across three samples. Multigroup analysis also revealed that the consumer vanity scales have partial factorial invariance. More specifically, the results as related to latent means comparison revealed that there are differences and similarities between the four dimensions of consumer vanity among Chinese, South Korean and Thai participants. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
Consumers' perceptions and awareness of safe food preparation practices at homes in Trinidad, West Indies
Authors: Boodhu Ambika , Badrie Neela , Sookdhan Judy 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe objectives were to evaluate consumer perception and awareness of safe food preparation practices at homes. A questionnaire was self‐administered to 124 consumers who were primarily responsible for preparation of foods and owned a refrigerator at home. Data were analysed by frequencies and chi‐square. Most (97.6%) consumers considered safe food practices as ‘very important’. Few (8.9%) related Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point to safe food preparation practices. Microbiological hazard was ranked as a most serious threat to food safety (80.5%).Salmonellawas most well known (79.8%). Diarrhoea (23.7%) was a common symptom of food‐borne illness. More than 50% would ‘always’ check for expiry dates on labels, seals and would never purchase swollen cans. Only 48.4% consumers used separate cutting boards for meats and vegetables ‘always’. Some (6.5%) felt it was appropriate to give unfit food to someone else. The study identified critical points in safe food preparation practices for effective public health education.
Moving towards consumer involvement in maternity services in the north‐east of Ireland
Authors: Kennedy Patricia 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThis article uses a case‐study approach to focus on developments in maternity services in the north‐east of Ireland where there is occurring a planned move towards active consumer involvement. In a country with a poor record of consumer involvement, this is a very welcome and innovative development. The Health Service in Ireland is in crisis, characterized by a very prolonged and difficult restructuring, extreme difficulties in recruiting and retraining staff, lack of resources, long waiting times in accident and emergency units with the media reporting daily counts of those left lying on trolleys for extended periods. The north‐east of the country has been affected by the closure of two maternity units in Monaghan and Dundalk. The region has been rocked in recent years by a major health scandal with a long‐serving obstetrician being struck off the medical register for carrying out an excessive number of caesarean hysterectomies. Out of this, there is emerging an innovative woman‐centred maternity service in the north‐east of the country. This article evaluates these developments with a particular focus on consumer involvement.
Japanese consumers' use of extrinsic and intrinsic cues to mitigate risky food choices
Authors: Kim Renee 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe stated preference data were used to simulate and examine consumers' valuation of important extrinsic and intrinsic cues that are associated with risky foods. This analysis generates information on how consumers assess trade‐offs between price and selected intrinsic and extrinsic cues to determine their choice among alternative products. From this, optimum level of product quality attributes (i.e. intrinsic cues) and optimum price level for import products can be derived. Also, most effective sources of communicating food safety and risk management can be identified. The results show that the country origin cue is a key factor in understanding consumers' choice behaviour for food product that entails potential risk, which may suggest that consumers are using this information as a risk‐reduction strategy.
Women, men and organic food: differences in their attitudes and willingness to pay. A Spanish case study
Authors: Ureña Félix , Bernabéu Rodolfo , Olmeda Miguel 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe main purpose of this work consists of displaying the different attitudes of men and women towards organic food, and their willingness to pay for it, in three different consumer intensities: usual, occasional and potential consumers. Several surveys have been carried out to obtain a representative sample of regular food purchasers living in Castilla‐La Mancha (Spain). Statistic analysis previously detecting significant differences with regard to gender and type of consumer has been conducted by univariate analysis to describe attitudes, and multivariate analysis, through ‘logit’ models, to calculate maximum willingness to pay. Results show that women have a more favourable attitude (directly related to their lifestyle) to the purchase and consumption of organic food than men, whereas men are inclined to pay a higher price for organic food than women. In general, men are disposed to pay a higher increase in price than women.
Ghanaian attitudes towards money in consumer culture
Authors: Bonsu Samuel K. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe globalization of American‐style consumer culture has invited transformations in attitudes towards money in many societies around the world, rich and poor. However, the majority of research in this area has focused on affluent countries. Towards redress, I report on a study that examined the psychometric properties of Yamauchi and Templer's (1982) money attitude scale (MAS) using a sample drawn from Ghana, West Africa. The findings suggest that although the MAS needs to be reconfigured for effective use in Ghana, Ghanaians have attitudes towards money that are similar in most respects to what has been observed in wealthier countries, which suggests the global reach of consumer culture. Limitations and future research are proposed.
From mornings to evenings: is there variation in shopping behaviour between different hours of the day?
Authors: Skogster Patrik , Uotila Varpu , Ojala Lauri 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe consumer movement preferences data have traditionally been collected through more or less subjective methods, such as panel interviews, camera tracking and in‐store observation. Modern technology makes it possible also to use more objective methods. In this paper different data‐collecting methods were compared. One method, wireless local area network (WLAN) was tested and used in identification purposes. The empirical data were collected from a large Do‐It‐Yourself store. The most popular departments and sections of the store were explored from the standpoint of different times of a day. The WLAN technology proved to be useful, reliable and objective. The empirical test results show that consumer behaviour varies depending on the time of the day.
The influence of college students' shopping orientations and gender differences on online information searches and purchase behaviours
Authors: Seock Yoo‐Kyoung , Bailey Lauren R. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractUsing the data collected from a survey of 1277 US college students, this study investigated college students' shopping orientations, and examined the relationships between their shopping orientations and searches for information about and purchases of apparel products online and the differences between male and female students in their shopping orientations, online information searches and purchase experiences. Seven shopping orientation constructs were identified: shopping enjoyment, brand/fashion consciousness, price consciousness, shopping confidence, convenience/time consciousness, in‐home shopping tendency and brand/store loyalty. Results showed that participants' shopping orientations were significantly related to their searches for information about and purchases of apparel items online. In addition, male and female participants showed significant differences in their shopping orientations, online information searches and purchase experiences. This study provided suggestions for apparel e‐tailors to develop effective marketing strategies to reach their target market, for consumer educators and for educators in the retail merchandizing area to prepare their students for future careers.
Comparison of dogs with septic peritonitis: 1988–1993 versus 1999–2003
Authors: Bentley Adrienne M. , Otto Cynthia M. , Shofer Frances S. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractObjective: To describe and compare the patient population, treatment, and outcome in dogs with septic peritonitis from 2 time periods at the same institution.Design: Retrospective study.Setting: The Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania.Animals: Dogs treated surgically for septic peritonitis between 1988–1993 and 1999–2003.Interventions: None.Measurements: Preoperative physical and clinicopathologic data, surgical findings, anesthetic parameters, treatment, and outcome.Main results: No significant difference in survival among dogs treated surgically for septic peritonitis between 1988 and 1993 (21/33 [64%]) and 1999–2003 (29/51 [57%]) was detected. The patient populations of the two time periods were similar. Changes in treatment between the study periods reflected availability of new antibiotics and synthetic colloids, as well as greater attention to pain management and ulcer prevention. Duration of hospitalization was not significantly different between the two time periods, but the daily cost adjusted to 2005 dollars was higher in 1999–2003. Potential prognostic indicators were compared between survivors and non‐survivors after combining the data from both time periods, and although several parameters reached statistical significance, of greatest clinical significance were the higher blood pressure and preoperative serum albumin in survivors.Conclusions: Although new treatments were added to the supportive care of dogs with septic peritonitis, survival did not change sufficiently to detect a significant difference between the time periods evaluated. Identifying reliable prognostic indicators for septic peritonitis remains a challenge, but hypotension and decreased preoperative serum albumin were associated with non‐survival in this group of dogs.
Botulinum Toxin Type A in the Treatment of Chronic Migraine Without Medication Overuse
Authors: Freitag Frederick G. , Diamond Seymour , Diamond Merle , Urban George 
Published: December 2007

Introduction.— Chronic migraine is a recent diagnostic term that has undergone evolution from its original description. Clinically it has been believed that medication overuse contributed to its development and would block attempts at prevention. Previous studies with Botulinum Toxin Type A have demonstrated that it is effective even in patients with medication overuse. This study undertakes to examine the effects of Botulinum Toxin Type A in the absence of medication overuse in patients with chronic migraine.Study Design.— Double‐blind placebo‐controlled randomized trial of Botulinum Toxin Type A 100 units administered in a fixed dose and site paradigm.Patients.— In total, 86 patients were enrolled. A total of 60 patients were randomized and 41 patients were treated with the study medication or placebo. Five patients failed to complete the study, which lasted 4 months after the study medication was injected.Results.— Botulinum Toxin Type A was statistically superior to placebo for the primary endpoint of reduction in migraine headache episodes. Six patients on Botulinum Toxin Type A compared with 3 patients on Placebo had at least a 50% reduction in their migraine episodes. Active treatment was superior to placebo for the secondary endpoints of total headache days, headache index, and quality of life measures. It showed numerical superiority to placebo for acute medication use and Migraine Disability Assessment Scores. Adverse events were rare and similar in both treatment groups.Conclusions.— The use of Botulinum Toxin Type A may be an effective treatment for chronic migraine when the patient does not have concomitant medication overuse. It was well tolerated in this trial.
Repigmentation of pretibial vitiligo with calcineurin inhibitors under occlusion
Authors: Hartmann Anke , Bröcker Eva‐Bettina , Hamm Henning 
Published: December 2007

SummaryTreatment of vitiligo is a challenge, especially in children. Recently, topical calcineurin inhibitors have been introduced in the management of vitiligo, but significant repigmentation is not achieved except on the face. Large pretibial lesions of a 15‐year‐old female with progressive vitiligo were treated twice daily over six months with 0.1% tacrolimus ointment on the right and 1% pimecrolimus cream on the left side without effect. Additional overnight occlusion with polyurethane and hydrocolloid foils during the following 18 months led to substantial repigmentation on both sides (tacrolimus‐treated side, 88% repigmented area; pimecrolimus‐treated side, 73%). Tacrolimus serum levels measured at four different time points did not exceed 1.8 ng/ml. This case report on a direct comparison of topical tacrolimus and pimecrolimus in vitiligo shows that on the shins considerable improvement could be induced with both agents only by additional long‐term occlusion and that tacrolimus was somewhat more effective than pimecrolimus.
Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Life Satisfaction Checklist as a Screening Tool for Erectile Dysfunction
Authors: Moncada Ignacio , Micheltorena Cristina Fernández , Martínez-Sánchez Eva M. , Gutiérrez Javier Rejas 
Published: December 2007

ABSTRACT

Introduction
There is a need for a more feasible and acceptable screening tool for erectile dysfunction (ED) in our health context. The Fugl-Meyer's Life Satisfaction Checklist (LISAT-8) has been shown to be a simple and good instrument for assessing the satisfaction of ED patients in different aspects of their lives and has also shown acceptable psychometric properties to be used in the Spanish population with ED. Furthermore, this checklist has been used as a screening tool in patients with and without ED, showing valid and reliable properties for detection of ED.

Aim
To evaluate the validity and feasibility of LISAT-8 checklist as a screening tool to detect ED.

Methods and Main Outcome Measures
A cross-sectional, multicenter, and observational study was conducted including 6,986 Spanish men aged over 18 years. Patients completed the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) and LISAT-8 checklists. Questions about the simplicity of SHIM and LISAT-8 and time to complete them were used for feasibility evaluation. We used logistic regression analysis to select the best predictors for ED among the different items of LISAT-8 and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to select the best cutoff value discriminating ED vs. non-ED subjects. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV), along with kappa agreement coefficient, were also estimated.

Results
A total of 6,986 patients were included. Among the patients, 71.2% preferred LISAT-8 to SHIM. Time to completion of checklist was 0.5 minute less with LISAT-8 than with SHIM (P &lt;00001). Items 2 (sexual life), 5 (contacts with friends and acquaintances), and 3 (partner relationship) of LISAT–8 were selected as predictors for ED. ROC curve analysis showed a cutoff point ≥15 with a sensitivity of 81.7% (95% confidence intervals: 80.5–82.9), a specificity of 79.2% (77.5–80.8), and PPV of 88.7% (87.6–89.8%) and NPV of 72.0% (70.0–73.0%). Kappa agreement coefficients were 0.57 (LISAT-8 vs. SHIM) and 0.60 (LISAT-8 vs. IIEF).

Conclusions
LISAT-8 and its composite variable (formed by items 2+3+5) showed acceptable psychometric properties, and it could be a valid screening tool for ED in daily clinical practice.
Vaginal Vasomotion—Its Appearance, Measurement, and Usefulness in Assessing the Mechanisms of Vasodilatation
Authors: Levin Roy J. , Wylie Kevan 
Published: December 2007

ABSTRACTIntroductionIn a number of tissue microcirculations, the phenomenon of vasomotion occurs where only a proportion of the total number of capillaries present are open at the same time; they normally open and close in a random or chaotic order, partly determined by the metabolic state of their surrounding cells.AimA pilot to examine by photoplethysmography whether the vaginal microcirculation shows evidence of vasomotion and the effect when sexual arousal is induced.MethodsThe vaginal microcirculation in 14 healthy, premenopausal women was monitored by intravaginal infrared photoplethysmography using the vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA) as the index of blood content in the basal condition and during sexual arousal induced by video and/or clitoral stimulation.Main Outcome MeasureAnalysis and interpretation of vaginal photoplethysmographic traces.ResultsThe basal traces in all the sexually unaroused subjects (N=14) showed at least two populations of their VPAs: a high amplitude VPA (h-VPA) with rapid ascending phase (short duration of systolic infill) and descending phase (short duration of diastolic outflow) among which were pseudorandomly scattered, low amplitude VPAs (l-VPA) with less acute ascending and descending phases; the l-VPAs were usually half the amplitude of the h-VPAs. On sexual arousal, the l-VPAs were converted into h-VPAs so that the l-VPAs decreased and in some cases practically disappeared, and the h-VPAs usually showed an increase; with cessation of the vasodilatory stimulus (N=6), there was a slow recovery of the l-VPAs. The induction of orgasm did not appear to facilitate their recovery. Even during a short duration of sexual arousal (1 minute), the decrease in the l-VPAs (N=6) was a more sensitive index of the occurrence of genital arousal than relying solely on changes in the maximum amplitude of the VPA.ConclusionBecause of vasomotion, the vaginal microcirculation can react to a vasodilatory stimulus with one of four theoretical photoplethysmographic responses, viz., Type 1 (full response), where there is a significant increase in the amplitude of the h-VPA signal and the number of l-VPAs are greatly reduced with a near corresponding increase in the h-VPAs; Type 2 (partial response), where the amplitude (and in some cases the number) of the h-VPAs increases but there is no decrease in the number of l-VPAs; Type 3 (partial response), where the amplitude of the h-VPAs changes little but the number of l-VPAs is reduced and the number of h-VPAs are correspondingly increased; and Type 4, where neither the amplitude of the h-VPAs (or their number) nor the number of the l-VPAs change significantly (a noneffective stimulus). This new analysis allows a more comprehensive and better discriminatory assessment of vaginal vasodilatation (genital arousal) and its return to the basal state in response to sexual arousal and now includes a new measure that is independent of an increase in the h-VPA maximum amplitude (Type 3 response).
Discovery of HLA‐B*480102 in Taiwanese
Authors: Chen M. J. , Chu C. C. , Shyr M. H. , Lin P. Y. , Yang K. L. 
Published: December 2007

SummaryHuman leucocyte antigen (HLA)‐B48, an antigen within 7C CREG (cross‐reacting group) (Steiner et al., 2001) that cross‐reacts frequently with HLA‐B40 (i.e. HLA‐B60 and ‐B61) group of antibodies serologically, can be found in Alaskan Natives (Leffell et al., 2002), Amerindians (Martinez‐Naves et al., 1997), African Americans, Caucasians, and Oriental ethnicities (Mori et al., 1997; Schipper et al., 1997; Cao et al., 2001; Middleton et al., 2004; Hong et al., 2005; Itoh et al., 2005; Lee et al., 2005; Ogata et al., 2007). Sequencing investigations demonstrated that the common allele encoding the B48 antigen is B*4801 (Belich et al., 1992). To date, there are at least 16 WHO recognized B*48 alleles according to the most recent report from the WHO nomenclature committee (Marsh et al., 2005). Here we report a newly discovered allele B*480102, a variant of B*4801, detected in a 55‐year‐old Taiwanese patient of Minan origin (southern China).
Promotional piracy
Authors: Croxson Karen 
Published: December 2007

AbstractUnauthorized copying of goods can displace current sales. At the same time, those who pirate a product may help alert others to its existence, leading to stronger future demand. I discuss a simple model which leaves room for both effects. Piracy's net profit impact is linked to the whereabouts of people in the space of willingness‐to‐pay and personal piracy cost. Considerations of location help demystify empirical puzzles, such as why some (computer games manufacturers) deploy stringent copy protection when elsewhere (business software) controls appear more relaxed.