bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Sexual and Relationship Functioning in Couples with Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome
Authors: Smith Kelly B. , Tripp Dean , Pukall Caroline , Nickel J. Curtis 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Both partners in a relationship are typically affected when one experiences sexual dysfunction and/or pain. However, couple functioning has rarely been investigated in Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS), a common condition in men involving pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction.

Aim
To identify potential predictors of sexual and relationship function among couples with CP/CPPS, and to examine associations among pain, sexual, and relationship variables in patients and their women partners.

Methods
Thirty-eight patients with CP/CPPS and their women partners completed questionnaires assessing sexual and relationship function via mail.

Main Outcome Measures
Patients completed a subscale from the Multidimensional Pain Inventory and the International Index of Erectile Function. Partners completed the Female Sexual Function Index. All participants completed the Golombok–Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale.

Results
Couples' sexual function, sexual satisfaction, and relationship adjustment were all significantly associated. Pain severity significantly predicted sexual and relationship functioning among couples. However, multiple regression models revealed that sexual and relationship variables were the strongest predictors of patient and partner functioning, over and above pain severity. Patient sexual function was predicted by patient sexual satisfaction and female sexual function, whereas female sexual function was predicted by female sexual satisfaction and patient relationship adjustment. With regard to sexual satisfaction, patient sexual function and relationship adjustment and female relationship adjustment predicted patient sexual satisfaction. Female sexual function predicted female sexual satisfaction. Among both patients and partners, relationship adjustment was significantly predicted by that of one's partner. The only partner variable that was significantly predicted by patient pain severity was female sexual function.

Conclusion
Significant links exist among the sexual and relationship functioning of patients with CP/CPPS and their partners. These results emphasize the importance of the interpersonal context on couples' functioning, and highlight the need to adopt a biopsychosocial approach when investigating CP/CPPS.
Frenular Grafting: An Alternative to Circumcision in Men with a Combination of Tight Frenulum and Phimosis
Authors: Kayes Oliver , Li Chi-Ying , Spillings Amanda , Ralph David 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Men suffering from frenular scarring and stricturing with associated phimosis are traditionally treated with circumcision. In men wishing to retain their foreskin, the treatment options are limited by this dual pathology. Frenuloplasty alone is contraindicated in this clinical setting.

Aim
To demonstrate the utility of frenular grafting in patients with a tight frenulum and concomitant phimosis who wish to retain their foreskin.

Methods
Six men were included in the study. Presenting symptoms included bleeding (N = 2) and pain/phimosis (N = 6). Median age is 27 years (25–34 years). All men were healthy and sexually active. We describe a refined technique involving the excision of scarred and redundant frenular tissue and the insertion of a skin graft to the area.

Main Outcome Measures
All patients were assessed for graft viability, functional/symptom improvement, time to penetrative intercourse, and overall satisfaction.

Results
All men received an interposition skin graft with 100% viability, with no revision surgery required. Postoperatively, all men were sexually active and able to retract their foreskin.

Conclusions
Cosmetic outcomes are encouraging and painless sexual intercourse is attainable in this difficult group of patients.
Differential Effects of Hunting on Pre‐Dispersal Seed Predation and Primary and Secondary Seed Removal of Two Neotropical Tree Species
Authors: Beckman Noelle G. , Muller‐Landau Helene C. 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTMany of the mammals undergoing drastic declines in tropical forests worldwide are important seed dispersers and seed predators, and thus changes in mammal communities due to hunting will affect plant recruitment. It has been hypothesized that larger‐seeded species will suffer greater reductions in seed removal and thus greater increases in predispersal seed predation than smaller‐seeded species. We compared primary and secondary seed removal and predispersal seed predation of two tree species between hunted and nonhunted sites in Central Panama. Seeds of Oenocarpus mapora (Arecaceae) are 16‐times greater in size than those of Cordia bicolor (Boraginaceae). We quantified primary seed removal and predispersal seed predation using seed traps, and we assessed secondary seed removal using seed removal plots. Primary removal of C. bicolor was 43 percent lower in the hunted sites, while primary removal of O. mapora was not significantly different. Secondary removal of unprotected O. mapora seeds on the ground was 59 percent lower in hunted sites, while secondary removal of C. bicolor was not significantly different. Predispersal seed predation of O. mapora by mammals was significantly lower in hunted sites, while predispersal seed predation by insects was not significantly different in either species. In combination with other studies, our results suggest that seed size is not a reliable predictor of the impacts of hunting. Mammal defaunation differentially affects stages and modes of seed dispersal and seed predation of different plant species, suggesting that these influences are complex and related to multiple plant traits.
Size‐Related Differential Seed Predation in a Heavily Defaunated Neotropical Rain Forest
Authors: Dirzo Rodolfo , Mendoza Eduardo , Ortíz Patricia 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTHunting and habitat loss represent an increasingly common anthropogenic impact. Available evidence suggests that defaunation is typically differential: medium/large mammals are most affected while small rodents are less affected, or even favored. In heavily impacted areas, such as Los Tuxtlas, the residual mammalian fauna is dominated by small rodents. We tested the expectation that if small rodents will preferentially attack small‐seeded species, large‐seeded species may escape predation in the absence of medium/large seed predators and that this may affect germination and, possibly, recruitment. Experiments with caged rodents (Heteromys desmarestianus) under laboratory conditions showed a preference for smaller seeds. A field experiment involving seeds of contrasting size showed that small, unprotected seeds experienced a predation risk 30‐times larger than protected seeds, while the effect of protection was not significant for large seeds. These patterns of predation led to significant differences in germination: protected small‐seeded species had a fourfold greater germination than unprotected small‐seeded species, while germination was not significantly different between exposed and protected large seeds. The observed contrasts in germination suggest that under heavy defaunation, small‐seeded species are likely to be penalized by the overabundance of small rodents, while large‐seeded species escape predation. Our results are consistent with the observation of dense seedling carpets dominated by large‐seeded species in the understory of Los Tuxtlas. We speculate that the patterns we uncovered may explain, at least partly, the impoverished diversity of the understory vegetation that characterizes heavily defaunated understories and that this has the potential to affect forest regeneration.
Hunting of Mammals Reduces Seed Removal and Dispersal of the Afrotropical Tree Antrocaryon klaineanum (Anacardiaceae)
Authors: Wang Benjamin C. , Sork Victoria L. , Leong Misha T. , Smith Thomas B. 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTThroughout the tropics, mammalian seed dispersers are being driven to local extinction by intense hunting pressure, generating concern not only about the loss of these species, but also about the consequences for the plants they disperse. We compared two rain forest sites in Cameroon—one with heavy hunting pressure and one protected from hunting—to appraise the loss of mammalian seed dispersers and to assess the impact of this loss on seed removal and seed dispersal of Antrocaryon klaineanum (Anacardiaceae), a mammal‐dispersed tree. Surveys of arboreal frugivores indicate that three of the five monkey species, as well as chimpanzee and gorilla, have been extirpated from the hunted forest. Diaspore counts underneath A. klaineanum adults (six trees per site) indicate that seed removal is severely reduced in the hunted forest. Finally, genetic maternity exclusion analysis (using 3–7 nuclear microsatellite loci) of maternally inherited endocarp tissue from diaspores collected under the canopies of 12 fruiting “mother” trees (six trees per site) revealed that seed dispersal in the hunted forest is also greatly reduced. In the hunted forest with reduced mammal dispersal agents, only 1 of the 53 assayed endocarps (2%) did not match the mother and was determined to be from a dispersed diaspore. By contrast, in the protected forest, 20 of the 48 assayed endocarps (42%) were from dispersed diaspores. This study provides strong evidence that loss of dispersal agents can lead to reduced seed removal and loss of seed dispersal, disrupting the seed dispersal cycle.
The sizes of disc galaxies in intermediate-redshift clusters
Authors: Bamford S. P. , Milvang-Jensen B. , Aragón-Salamanca A. 
Published: May 2007

Abstract
We examine how the location of star formation within disc galaxies depends on environment at intermediate redshift. This is achieved by comparing emission-line (rem) and rest-frame B-band (rB) scalelengths for matched samples of 50 field and 19 cluster, star-forming, disc galaxies, with 0.25 ⩽z⩽ 1.0 and MB⩽−19.5 mag. We find that at a given rB the majority of our cluster galaxies have rem smaller than those in the field, by 25 per cent on average. These results are compared with studies of local galaxies, which find a very similar behaviour. From the relations of rem and rB versus B-band absolute magnitude (MB) we infer that the difference between the intermediate-z cluster and field samples is mostly attributable to variation in rem at a given MB, while the rB versus MB relation is similar for the two samples.
On spherically symmetrical accretion in fractal media
Authors: Roy Nirupam 
Published: May 2007

Abstract
We use fractional integrals to generalize the description of hydrodynamic accretion in fractal media. The fractional continuous medium model allows the generalization of the equations of balance of mass density and momentum density. These make it possible to consider the general case of spherical hydrodynamic accretion on to a gravitating mass embedded in a fractal medium. The general nature of the solution is similar to the ‘Bondi solution’, but the accretion rate may vary substantially and the dependence on central mass may change significantly depending on dimensionality of the fractal medium. The theory shows consistency with the observational data and numerical simulation results for the particular case of accretion on to pre-main-sequence stars.
EFFECT OF ELECTRICAL STIMULATION, SUSPENSION METHOD AND AGING ON BEEF TENDERNESS OF THE BONSMARA BREED
Authors: DERBYSHIRE W. , LUES J.F.R. , JOUBERT G. , SHALE K. , JACOBY A. , HUGO A. 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACT In this study, the effect of electrical stimulation (ES), suspension method (SM) and aging on the tenderness of the Longissimus lumborum (LL) of 32 Bonsmara steer carcasses was investigated. After slaughtering, half of the carcasses (16) used in the study were electrically stimulated, and after dressing all 32 carcasses were split into halves and 16 electrically stimulated and 16 nonelectrically stimulated halves were hip suspended while the remaining halves were Achilles suspended. After a 24‐h chill, the LL was removed and divided into half. Half of the LL samples were designated to the 24‐h aging treatment and frozen, while the other half was vacuum packed and aged for 7 days. Small samples were removed from the 24‐h and 7‐day aged samples for determination of sarcomere lengths. Sarcomere lengths were significantly increased by hip suspension, but were not affected by ES, as well as by aging in combination with ES or suspension. Tenderness was measured by means of shear force, and cooking data were recorded. When applied individually, all the treatments significantly reduced the shear force of the meat; however, in combinations, the treatments had a cumulative effect, especially when carcasses were Achilles suspended. The SM, aging and ES had no effect on the cooking data.
City Marketing: The Past, the Present and Some Unresolved Issues
Authors: Kavaratzis Mihalis 
Published: May 2007

AbstractFor several decades now, cities all over the world have been applying marketing techniques and increasingly adopting a marketing philosophy to meet their operational and strategic goals. City marketing has grown into an established field of research and an academic subdiscipline. This article begins with a description of the three main historical episodes of city marketing development and then assesses its current state, suggesting that cities have moved into a fourth episode, which centres on the application of city branding. Despite the accumulated experience, however, many issues surrounding the application of city marketing remain in need of further theoretical development and practical clarification. The last part of this article therefore seeks to further the discussion about the effects of city marketing, seeking to elicit the latent potential that city marketing might still hold for the future prospects of cities.
Climate Science and Decision Making
Authors: Dow Kirstin , Carbone Gregory 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis article reviews progress in understanding climate variability and change and how such understanding might better contribute to decision processes and the design of decision support tools. We emphasize the value of collaborative engagement between climate information users and scientists to continue innovation in this area. Our assessment presents opportunities for geographic perspectives and insights that can increase understanding of the physical processes causing interannual variability and improve climate model output for climate impact assessment. As decision‐makers’ interests expand to address adaptation, nature‐society research can also contribute significantly to understanding the diversity of climate information users, their evolving needs, and to the development of strategies for communicating risk and uncertainty.
Climate Change and Human Health
Authors: Comrie Andrew 
Published: May 2007

AbstractWhat kinds of climate‐mediated diseases exist, and how are projected climate changes expected to alter their spread and timing? Disease is produced in a complex way, through coupled interactions between natural and human systems. Climate is a major factor controlling ecosystem variability and therefore the potential for outbreaks of certain diseases. Yet, the concept of vulnerability shows how overall disease risk depends not only on the environmental exposure, but also on the sensitivity and adaptive capacity of the group and place experiencing it. These interactions between environment and society are highlighted through a set of climate‐related diseases, ranging from direct to complex relationships, including extreme heat, air pollution, aeroallergens, fungi, water‐ and food‐borne diseases, influenza, rodent‐borne diseases, and insect‐borne diseases.
Utility of the Dental Aesthetic Index in Industrialized and Developing Countries
Authors: Cons Naham C. , Jenny Joanna , Kohout Frank J. , DDS Yupin Songpaisan , Jotikastira Dirawathana 
Published: April 2007

AbstractTo be truly useful, an index must be applicable universally without modification. The data presented in this article support the use of the standard DAI without modification to assess need for orthodontic treatment in both developing and industrialized countries. When students from Thailand, Australia, the German Democratic Republic, and Native Americans residing on Indian reservations rated the same 25 occlusal stimuli (photographs of dental configurations) for dental aesthetics, their ratings of these stimuli when arranged in rank order were highly correlated with those of US students. These 25 occlusal stimuli were a subset of the original 200 occlusal stimuli used in deriving the standard DAI regression equation.This article presents data indicating that when a Native American DAI was derived based on Native American ratings of the same 200 occlusal stimuli used in deriving the standard DAI, the Native American DAI and the standard DAI had the same ten components (orthodontic measurements) and strikingly similar regression coefficients (weights). Further analysis indicated that the two equations were sufficiently similar to justify using the standard DAI to obtain DAI scores on Native Americans and to estimate the relative social acceptability of their dental aesthetics.If ratings for dental aesthetics for the full set of 200 stimuli were available for each of the countries where only 25 were rated, we expect that, as in the case of Native Americans, a country‐specific DAI, if computed, would be sufficiently similar to the standard DAI that no modification would be needed to allow use of the standard DAI in that country. We conclude that the standard DAI could have utility in both developing and industrialized countries to assess need for orthodontic treatment.
Issues in Financing Dental Care for the Elderly
Authors: Jones Judith A. , Adelson Richard , Nlessen Linda C. , Gilbert Gregg H. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThe elderly make up an increasingly larger segment of the patient population in dental practices. This article reviews recent epidemiologic, demographic, and health services research, and concludes that significant segments of the elderly are at high risk for oral disease and/or limited access to dental treatment, and consequently warrant classification as high‐risk groups for policy considerations. It then proposes policy options to the dental community and public policy decision makers. Oral care can be viewed as having three components. Two basic components are the primary care component–which includes diagnostic, preventive, restorative, and periodontal care–and the acute care component–i.e., the treatment of oral pain, trauma, and infection. The third, rehabilitative component, has to do with the restoration of oral function, including prosthodontics and cosmetic dentistry. Viewing dental care in this perspective may help link funding for dental primary care services with that for other primary health services, and link restoration of function and improvement of quality of life with similar health services, like hearing, vision, and social services. In addition, approaching dental care policy makers on several levels–i.e., federal, state, and local–will contribute to our ability as a profession, in the decades ahead, to meet the oral health needs of more elders: including the frail, those at high risk for oral disease, and those with limited access to care.
Statistical Methodologies Useful for the Analysis of Data from Risk‐assessment Studies
Authors: Koch Gary G. , Beck James D. 
Published: April 2007

Abstractin dentistry, the vast majority of studies attempting to predict who is at high risk for getting a disease or condition, or attempting to identify risk factors for a specific disease or condition, have focused either on only one risk factor at a time, or have measured multiple potential risk factors, but analyzed their effects in isolation. Since researchers tend to agree that most dental conditions have a multiple etiology, it is necessary to develop models that consider simultaneously the effect of a number of potential risk factors on the disease or condition of interest if we are to have any understanding of the relative impact of potential risk factors. Many existing statistical techniques will aid dental researchers in identifying risk factors. However, the selection of an appropriate analytic technique depends on a number of conditions. The strategy for this paper is to discuss a wide range of possible statistical techniques that may be applied to the problem of deriving a model for identification of multiple risk factors for dental diseases and conditions. We have approached this task by presenting a number of dental research problems needing an appropriate analytic technique. Next, basic issues that must be considered in choosing an appropriate analytic strategy are discussed. These issues include features of the study design, the data structure of the variables being measured, and the types of assumptions that are applicable to provide valid inferences about the target population of interest. A matrix of possible analytic techniques is presented for various combinations of study‐design and data‐structure features. After a discussion of each of the techniques, the appropriate statistical techniques for each of the dental examples are described. The issues and examples presented in this paper should be of use to dental researchers who wish to investigate multiple risk factors for a disease or condition of interest.
The Need for Toothpastes with Lower than Conventional Fluoride Concentrations for Preschool‐aged Children
Authors: Horowitz Herschel S. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractSince 1945, when community water fluoridation was first implemented in the United States, not only has the procedure grown to cover more than half of the US population, but the development and use of other fluoride methods have expanded greatly. A concomitant, dramatic decrease has occurred in the caries prevalence of US school‐aged children. Recent studies indicate, how‐ever, that the prevalence and, to a lesser extent, the intensity of dental fluorosis have increased in schoolchildren in both fluoridated and fluoride‐deficient areas. Several studies show that young children inadvertently ingest sizable proportions of toothpaste during toothbrushing. Although ingestion of fluoride toothpastes by preschool‐aged children may not be the major contributor to the increase in fluorosis, the findings of at least four studies suggest that the use of fluoride toothpastes by young children is a risk factor. The direct dose‐response relation between effectiveness and fluoride concentration of toothpastes is far from clear‐cut and, at best, is weak. Thus, considering today's reduced risk of caries, it is timely to market fluoride toothpastes in the US with 400–500 ppm fluoride for preschool‐aged children, who are still at risk for developing fluorosis, as has been done in several other countries. Dental public health authorities must work with toothpaste manufacturers, professional organizations, and regulatory agencies to facilitate the approval and marketing of such pediatric fluoride tooth‐pastes.
Organisms Designated as
Nocardia asteroides
Drug Pattern Type VI Are Members of the Species
Nocardia cyriacigeorgica
Authors: Conville Patricia S. , Witebsky Frank G. 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACT

Nocardia cyriacigeorgica
has recently been described as an “emerging” pathogen. However, DNA-DNA hybridization results confirm that
Nocardia asteroides
drug pattern type VI, which has long been recognized as a common and significant pathogen in the United States, belongs to the species
N. cyriacigeorgica
.