bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Psychological symptoms and physical health and health behaviours in adolescents: a prospective 2‐year study in East London
Authors: Clark Charlotte , Haines Mary M. , Head Jenny , Klineberg Emily , Arephin Muna , Viner Russell , Taylor Stephanie J. C. , Booy Robert , Bhui Kam , Stansfeld Stephen A. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTAims  To examine whether physical health and health‐risk behaviours in young people are risk factors for psychological distress and depressive symptoms over a 2‐year period.Design/setting  A 2‐year, prospective epidemiological cohort study in East London.Participants  A total of 1615 adolescents from the Research with East London Adolescents: Community Health Survey (RELACHS)—a representative cohort of young people aged 11–12 and 13–14 years at baseline, followed‐up after 2 years.Measurements  Psychological distress and depressive symptoms identified by the self‐report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire at baseline and follow‐up. Data on overweight/obesity, general health, long‐standing illness, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use and drug use were collected from questionnaires completed by the adolescents at baseline and follow‐up.Findings  At follow‐up, 10.1% of males and 12.9% of females reported psychological distress; 20% of males and 33.7% of females reported depressive symptoms. Having tried drugs or engaged in two or more health‐risk behaviours (smoking, alcohol use or drug use) at baseline predicted psychological distress and depressive symptoms at follow‐up. Smoking on its own, long‐standing illness, obesity/overweight and activity levels were not associated with later psychological health. Risk of poor psychological health at follow‐up was associated strongly with psychological health at baseline.Conclusions  Psychological health at baseline was the strongest predictor of psychological health at follow‐up. Engaging in two or more health‐risk behaviours moderately increased the risk of poor psychological health, suggesting that prevention strategies targeting co‐occuring substance use may reduce burden of disease.
A latent class analysis of illicit drug abuse/dependence: results from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions
Authors: Agrawal Arpana , Lynskey Michael T. , Madden Pamela A. F. , Bucholz Kathleen K. , Heath Andrew C. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTAims  We examine the co‐occurrence of abuse/dependence across different illicit drugs and test associations between these classes and major psychiatric disorders.Method  Latent class analyses were used to characterize polysubstance abuse/dependence (AB/D) in 43 093 individuals who participated in the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to examine the association between the classes of life‐time illicit drug AB/D and gender, age and race, as well as life‐time Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version IV (DSM‐IV) alcohol abuse/dependence, nicotine dependence, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social phobia and antisocial personality disorder.Results  Five latent classes were identified: no AB/D (class 1: 92.5%), cannabis AB/D only (class 2: 5.8%), stimulants + hallucinogen AB/D (class 3: 0.6%), prescription drug AB/D (class 4: 0.6%) and polysubstance AB/D (class 5: 0.5%). Major depressive disorder and nicotine dependence were associated most strongly with class 5. Anxiety disorders were associated strongly with the prescription drug AB/D class while alcohol AB/D and ASPD were associated with classes 2, 3, 4 and 5 when compared to the reference class (class 1).Conclusions  Significant heterogeneity exists in this US population for polysubstance AB/D patterns with evidence for a subgroup with high rates of sedative, tranquilizer and opiate AB/D and a history of anxiety disorders, a stimulant/hallucinogens group, a high‐risk group with elevated rates of all psychiatric disorders and a milder cannabis AB/D only group. Replication of such classes across other samples has significant implications, such as characterizing risk groups that may be etiologically diverse.
Bayesian selection of predictors of conception probabilities across the menstrual cycle
Authors: Scarpa Bruno , Dunson David B. 
Published: October 2006

SummaryThere is increasing interest in identifying predictors of human fertility, including environmental exposures, behavioural factors, and biomarkers, such as mucus or reproductive hormones. Epidemiological studies typically measure fecundability, the per menstrual cycle probability of conception, using time to pregnancy data. A critical predictor, which is often ignored in the design or analysis, is the timing of non‐contracepting intercourse in the menstrual cycle. In order to limit confounding by behavioural differences between exposure groups, it may be preferable to base inferences on day‐specific conception probabilities in relation to intercourse timing. This article proposes Bayesian methods for selection of predictors of day‐specific conception probabilities. A particular focus is the case in which data on ovulation timing are not available. We focus on the selection of fertile days in the cycle during which conception probabilities are non‐negligible and predictors may play a role. Data from recent European and Italian prospective studies of daily fecundability are presented, and the proposed approach is used to estimate cervical mucus effects within a mid‐cycle potentially fertile window using data from the Italian study.
Measuring fecundity with standardised estimates of expected pregnancies
Authors: Mikolajczyk Rafael T. , Stanford Joseph B. 
Published: October 2006

SummaryApproaches to measuring fecundity include the assessment of time to pregnancy and day‐specific probabilities of conception (daily fecundities) indexed to a day of ovulation. In this paper, we develop an additional approach of calculating expected pregnancies based on daily fecundities indexed to the last day of the menstrual cycle. Expected pregnancies can thus be calculated while controlling for frequency and timing of coitus. Comparing observed pregnancies with expected pregnancies allows for a standardised comparison of fecundity between studies or groups within studies, and can be used to assess the effects of categorical covariates on the woman or couple level, and also on the cycle level. This can be accomplished in a minimal data set that does not necessarily require hormonal measurement or the explicit identification of ovulation. We demonstrate this approach by examining the effects of age and parity on fecundity in a data set from women monitoring their fertility cycles with the Creighton Model FertilityCare System.
Expression of the recombinant protein disulphide isomerase of Teladorsagia circumcincta
Authors: MARTÍNEZ‐VALLADARES M. , GODIO‐FERNÁNDEZ R. , VARA‐DEL RÍO M. P. , MARTÍN J. F. , ROJO‐VÁZQUEZ F. A. 
Published: October 2006

SUMMARY The aim of this experiment was to find an antigen from Teladorsagia circumcincta to measure the level of IgA in ovine serum samples. Previous experiments used the titre of IgA to select sheep resistant to infection with T. circumcincta. By Western blotting 22 experimentally infected ewes recognized many proteins, but not all of them were recognized by all animals. Sheep were divided into two groups of animals: those that recognized a protein in Western blotting and those that did not. Among all proteins, three showed significant associations between protein recognition and the titre of IgA in the serum.
Resistance to CO2 diffusion in cuticular membranes of amphibious plants and the implication for CO2 acquisition
Authors: FROST‐CHRISTENSEN HENNING , FLOTO FRANZ 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTCuticular membranes (CMs) were isolated from leaves of amphibious and submerged plants and their CO2 resistances were determined as a contribution to establish quantitatively the series of resistances met by CO2 diffusing from bulk water to the chloroplasts of submerged leaves. The isolation was performed enzymatically; permeabilities were determined and converted to resistances. The range of permeance values was 3 to 43 × 10−6 m s−1 corresponding to resistance values of 23 to 295 × 103 s m−1, i.e. of the same order of magnitude as boundary layer resistances. The sum of boundary layer, CM, leaf cell and carboxylation resistances could be contained within the total diffusion resistance as determined from the photosynthetic CO2 affinity of the leaf. From the same species, the aerial leaf CM resistance was always higher than the aquatic leaf CM resistance. In a terrestrial plant, the CM resistance to CO2 diffusion was found lower in leaves developed submerged.
A randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial of atovaquone–proguanil vs. sulphadoxine–pyrimethamine in the treatment of malarial anaemia in Zambian children
Authors: Mulenga Modest , Malunga Fidelis , Bennett Steve , Thuma Philip E , Shulman Caroline , Fielding Katherine , Alloueche Ali , Greenwood Brian M. 
Published: October 2006

SummaryObjective  To compare the efficacy of atovaquone–proguanil (AP) and sulphadoxine–pyrimethamine (SP) in the treatment of malarial anaemia in Zambian children.Methods  An individually randomised, double‐blind, controlled trial was undertaken in Zambian children with moderately severe anaemia and Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia. The main trial endpoint was treatment failure defined as a need for blood transfusion or treatment with quinine, persistent anaemia or death within 14 days from the start of treatment. Secondary endpoints were parasitological and haematological findings 14 or 28 days after the start of treatment.Results  A total of 128 children with a packed cell volume of <21% and >9% and P. falciparum parasitaemia received treatment with AP and 127 treatment with SP. Treatment failure occurred in 28 children (22%) who received SP and in 10 (8%) who received AP (OR: 3.34, 95% CI: 1.54, 7.21). Ten children required blood transfusion, all of whom were in the SP treatment group. Six children died, five of whom were in the AP group; none of the deaths were considered to be related directly to treatment.Conclusions  Atovaquone–proguanil proved more effective than SP in the treatment of malarial anaemia in an area with a modest level of SP resistance. AP is no longer available through the Malarone Donation Programme and is too expensive for routine use in Africa. However, this study has shown that in an area with a modest level of resistance to SP, use of a more effective antimalaria reduces the need for blood transfusion in children with malarial anaemia.
Does Seed‐Caching Experience Affect Spatial Memory Performance by Pinyon Jays?
Authors: Stafford B. Lucas , Balda Russell P. , Kamil Alan C. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractFood‐storing birds use spatial memory to find previously cached food items. Throughout winter, pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) rely heavily on cached pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) seeds. Because of a recent severe drought, pinyon pine trees had not produced a significant seed crop for several years. Therefore, 1‐ and 2‐yr‐old birds never had the opportunity to cache and recover seeds and birds 4 or more years of age had not recovered seeds in 3 yr. This study examined whether natural but extreme variability in experience might result in differences in abstract spatial memory ability during a non‐cache recovery test of spatial memory. Three groups of jays were tested for spatial memory ability in an open room analog of the radial arm maze. Two of the groups were 8 mo old: young/minimally experienced birds which had 2 mo of experience in the wild, while young/experienced birds had 5 mo of experience in their natural habitat. The third group, adult, consisted of birds more than 3 yr old, with at least 3 yr of experience in their natural habitat. This was the only group with experience caching pine seeds. All three groups performed equally and well above chance. This suggests that spatial memory is fully developed by 8 mo of age and is not affected by extensive experience in the wild.
First‐Year Common Nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) Have Smaller Song‐Type Repertoire Sizes Than Older Males
Authors: Kiefer Sarah , Spiess Anne , Kipper Silke , Mundry Roger , Sommer Christina , Hultsch Henrike , Todt Dietmar 
Published: October 2006

AbstractBased on the assumptions that birdsong indicates male quality and that quality is related to age, one might expect older birds to signal their age. That is, in addition to actual body condition, at least some song features should vary with age, presumably towards more complexity. We investigated this issue by comparing repertoire sizes of free‐ranging common nightingale males in their first breeding season with those of older males. Nightingales are a good model species as they are open‐ended learners, where song acquisition is not confined to an early sensitive period of learning. Moreover, nightingales develop an extraordinarily large song‐type repertoire (approx. 180 different song types per male), and differences in repertoire size among males are pronounced. We analysed repertoire characteristics of the nocturnal song of nine nightingales in their first breeding season and compared them with the songs of nine older males. The repertoire size of older males was on average 53% larger than that of yearlings. When analysing two song categories of nightingales, whistle and non‐whistle songs separately, we found similar results. Our findings show marked differences in repertoire size between age categories, suggesting that this song feature may reflect a male's age. We discuss those mechanisms that may constrain the development of larger repertoires in first‐year males. Whether repertoire sizes are crucial for female mate choice or in vocal interactions among conspecific males remains open to further investigations.
Biodiversity loss under existing land use and climate change: an illustration using northern South America
Authors: Higgins Paul A. T. 
Published: October 2006

ABSTRACTAim  Species richness depends on climate and land use. Maintaining locations with favourable climate and land‐use patterns is critical for protecting biodiversity because the loss of either can reduce the species richness that an area supports. Currently, the Guiana Shield (GS) receives abundant precipitation and has relatively light land use. For species richness this constitutes a good–good combination of climate and land use, respectively. In contrast, much of eastern Brazil receives low levels of precipitation and has heavy land use, which is a bad–bad combination for species richness. Thus, the current distribution of precipitation and land use in northern South America is relatively favourable for biodiversity. Palaeoclimate and model studies suggest, however, that the precipitation patterns for the two regions have switched before and could switch in response to greenhouse gas emissions. This paper examines the potential consequences of reconfiguring climate with respect to existing land‐use patterns using South America as an example.Location  South America north of 20° S and east of the Andes.Methods  Ecosystem structure and function are modelled under (1) historical climate and (2) altered precipitation following a shift in the location of the Inter‐Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The distribution of precipitation, biomes, net primary productivity (NPP) and land use are then used to predict levels of species richness under the two climate scenarios.Results  Climate changes could shift the distribution of vegetation and NPP such that conditions favourable for species richness in the GS region disappear. If land‐use patterns were not prohibitive in eastern Brazil, the improved climate conditions there could compensate for the GS loss (assuming migratory barriers are overcome). Instead, existing land‐use patterns cause the combined species richness projected for the two regions to plummet.Main conclusions  Human activities will alter current configurations of land use and climate throughout the world. For species richness, new configurations are likely to include both positive and negative combinations of climate and land use. However, the irreversibility of past extinctions due to land‐use patterns loads the dice against species richness.
Management Going‐concern Disclosures: Impact of Corporate Governance and Auditor Reputation
Authors: Uang Jinn‐Yang , Citron David B. , Sudarsanam Sudi , Taffler Richard J. 
Published: October 2006

Abstract The UK regulatory requirements relating to going‐concern disclosures require directors to report on the going‐concern status of their firms. Such directors have incentives not to report fairly in the case of financially‐distressed firms. We expect effective corporate governance mechanisms will encourage directors to report more truthfully in such situations. This paper tests this proposition explicitly using a large sample of going‐concern cases over the period 1994–2000. We find that whereas auditors' going‐concern opinions predict the subsequent resolution of going‐concern uncertainties directors' going‐concern statements convey arbitrary and unhelpful messages to users. However, robust corporate governance structures and high auditor reputation constrain directors to be more truthful in their going‐concern disclosures, bringing these more into line with the more credible auditor opinions.
Shopping behaviour among gay men: issues of internalized homophobia and self‐esteem
Authors: Reilly Andrew , Rudd Nancy A. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractConnections among internalized homophobia, self‐esteem and various shopping behaviours are investigated. Internalized homophobia, which affects nearly all gay men to some degree, and self‐esteem may affect shopping behaviours such as credit card debt, venue of shopping, enjoyment from shopping, amount of time spent shopping and frequency of shopping. Data from 213 gay men were collected using an Internet‐survey design. Results demonstrate that internalized homophobia has weak to moderate effects on thrift store shopping, discount store shopping and credit card debt. Although self‐esteem did not predict shopping behaviour, it was correlated with shopping enjoyment. Implications, limitations and future research are discussed.
Does caloric restriction extend life in wild mice?
Authors: Harper James M. , Leathers Charles W. , Austad Steven N. 
Published: October 2006

SummaryTo investigate whether mice genetically unaltered by many generations of laboratory selection exhibit similar hormonal and demographic responses to caloric restriction (CR) as laboratory rodents, we performed CR on cohorts of genetically heterogeneous male mice which were grandoffspring of wild‐caught ancestors. Although hormonal changes, specifically an increase in corticosterone and decrease in testosterone, mimicked those seen in laboratory‐adapted rodents, we found no difference in mean longevity between ad libitum (AL) and CR dietary groups, although a maximum likelihood fitted Gompertz mortality model indicated a significantly shallower slope and higher intercept for the CR group. This result was due to higher mortality in CR animals early in life, but lower mortality late in life. A subset of animals may have exhibited the standard demographic response to CR in that the longest‐lived 8.1% of our animals were all from the CR group. Despite the lack of a robust mean longevity difference between groups, we did note a strong anticancer effect of CR as seen in laboratory rodents. Three plausible interpretations of our results are the following: (1) animals not selected under laboratory conditions do not show the typical CR effect; (2) because wild‐derived animals eat less when fed AL, our restriction regime was too severe to see the CR effect; or (3) there is genetic variation for the CR effect in wild populations; variants that respond to CR with extended life are inadvertently selected for under conditions of laboratory domestication.
Unmet Mental Health Service Needs Among Norwegian Children and Adolescents
Authors: Andersson Helle Wessel , Ose Solveig Osborg 
Published: October 2006

Background:  The Norwegian 10 year mental health plan identifies important roles for public health nurses in the early identification, care and referral of children and adolescents with mental health problems. This study aims to identify the extent to which public health nurses are meeting these needs.Method:  Over a 4 week period the mental health needs of 3065 children who were seen by publich health nurses were identified.Results:  Achieving the ongoing Norwegian mental health plan may require better access to trained professionals in the public health sector, further expansion of specialised mental health services, and efforts to improve inter‐agency collaboration.
Vitamin D Status in Children with Intractable Epilepsy, and Impact of the Ketogenic Diet
Authors: Bergqvist A.G. Christina , Schall Joan I. , Stallings Virginia A. 
Published: October 2006

Summary:  Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe vitamin D status in children with intractable epilepsy prescribed newer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) before initiation of and during 15‐month treatment with the ketogenic diet (KD). Methods: Serum vitamin D (25‐OHD and 1,25‐OHD) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were assessed in prepubertal children with intractable epilepsy before initiation of and during KD therapy. Three‐day weighed dietary records including KD and vitamin and mineral supplementation were obtained at baseline and at 1 month. Results: Forty‐five children (aged 5.1 ± 2.7 years) were enrolled. Before KD therapy, 4% had deficient and 51% had insufficient serum 25‐OHD levels. Vitamin D intake was less than recommended in 47%. Adequate vitamin D intake, fewer AEDs, and generalized seizures were associated with higher serum 25‐OHD levels (p < 0.01). After 3 months on the KD, 25‐OHD levels increased (p < 0.001), and PTH declined (p < 0.001). Over the next 12‐month period, 25‐OHD levels steadily declined (p < 0.001), and PTH did not significantly change. Conclusions: Children with intractable epilepsy treated with newer AEDs had poor vitamin D status. Their status improved over the first 3 months of KD therapy with vitamin D supplementation and slowly declined thereafter.
Prolonged Focal Negative Motor Seizures: A Video‐EEG Study
Authors: Villani Flavio , D'Amico Domenico , Pincherle Alessandro , Tullo Vincenzo , Chiapparini Luisa , Bussone Gennaro 
Published: October 2006

Summary:  Purpose: Focal negative motor (akinetic) seizures are rare ictal events that are diagnostically challenging because they are difficult to differentiate from postictal Todd paresis, transient ischemic attacks, migraine events, and psychogenic episodes. Methods: We describe a 45‐year‐old man in whom, after surgical drainage of a right frontoparietal subdural hematoma, prolonged episodes developed with flaccid paralysis of the left arm. Results: A video‐EEG recording demonstrated a close relation between the focal motor impairment and a clear‐cut epileptic ictal discharge involving the right perirolandic cortical areas. Conclusions: On the basis of the electroclinical data, we hypothesize the involvement of the primary motor area in the genesis of the epileptic discharge triggering focal negative seizures.