bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Directly Observed Physical Activity Levels in Preschool Children
Authors: Pate Russell R. , McIver Kerry , Dowda Marsha , Brown William H. , Addy Cheryl 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACTBackground:  Millions of young children attend preschools and other structured child development programs, but little is known about their physical activity levels while in those settings. The purpose of this study was to describe the physical activity levels and demographic and school‐related correlates of physical activity in children attending preschools, using a direct observation measurement system.Methods:  The Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children‐Preschool Version was used to measure physical activity levels and related factors in four hundred ninety‐three 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children in 24 preschools. A minimum of six hundred 30‐second observation intervals were recorded for each child. Physical (height/weight) and demographic data also were collected.Results:  Children engaged in moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during less than 3% of the observation intervals and were sedentary during more than 80% of the observation intervals. Boys were more likely than girls to engage in MVPA (p = .01), and 3‐year‐old boys were more active than 4‐ and 5‐year‐old boys (p = .01). The preschool that a child attended explained 27% of the variance in activity levels.Conclusions:  The study indicates that young children are physically inactive during most of their time in preschool. The preschool that a child attended was a stronger predictor of physical activity level than any other factor examined. Additional research is needed to identify the characteristics of preschools in which children are more active.
To what extent are pesticides removed from surface water during coagulation–flocculation?
Authors: Thuy Pham Thi , Moons K. , Van Dijk J. C. , Viet Anh Nguyen , Van der Bruggen B. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractThe occurrence of pesticides in drinking water sources is of concern for drinking water production companies as well as for the end users. However, it is still unclear which pesticides are removed, and to what extent, in widely used treatment methods such as coagulation–flocculation. Pesticides possibly interact with colloidal particles by adsorption on the flocs during coagulation–flocculation. In this study, removal of four pesticides (aldrin, dieldrin, atrazine, bentazon) was observed during jar test experiments in distilled and surface water (Dijle river, Belgium), using aluminium sulphate as a coagulant in different amounts ranging from no coagulant to high doses (300 mg/L). Without aiming at an accurate description of the removal process, the purpose of this study was to evaluate how much of the pesticides can be removed by changing the concentration, the dosage, the water matrix and the properties of the pesticides. The results show that the removal is usually low. The efficiency was worse when the matrix was distilled water than for Dijle river water, which is consistent with the idea that the removal of micropollutants only occurs through adsorption on the available organic material, and not on inorganic coagulants. Sorption on the natural material available in the Dijle river water seemed to be the main mechanism controlling the removal of micropollutants with coagulation/flocculation, rather than the amount of coagulant added. The hydrophobicity of the compounds was found to be a major factor in determining the removal efficiency with coagulation–flocculation; the most hydrophobic compound had the highest removal efficiency. Nevertheless, the removal was below 50% under all the tested circumstances. The results of this study prove that pesticide removal in conventional water treatment plants depends on physico‐chemical interactions, but is insufficient even with extreme doses of alum.
Integrative socio‐economic planning of measures in the context of the water framework directive
Authors: Stemplewski J. , Krull D. , Wermter P. , Nafo I. I. , Palm N. , Lange C. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractThe European Water Framework Directive (WFD) constitutes a milestone for the protection of aquatic ecosystems. With respect to the challenging objectives of the WFD and the connected financial burdens, which may possibly exceed the capabilities of some regions, it is essential to establish a targeted and integrated view of the economic aspects, which are applicable within the implementation process of the WFD. This is necessary to provide for a sustainable and acceptable implementation of the WFD with regard to the affected parties. However up to now there are many undefined legal concepts and few specific procedural developments, which often do not correspond to the required interdisciplinary and practical approach but are based on complex scientific methods. Hence the purpose of the present article should consist in providing an approach for the integration of the different economic aspects of the WFD in the establishment of the programme of measures and for the concretisation of the river basin specific environmental objectives to be reached.
The Methamphetamine Home: Psychological Impact on Preschoolers in Rural Tennessee
Authors: Asanbe Comfort B. , Hall Charlene , Bolden Charles D. 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACT:
Context:

A growing number of children reside with methamphetamine‐abusing parents in homes where the illicit drug is produced. Yet, the effects of a methamphetamine environment on psychological child outcome are still unknown. Purpose: To examine whether preschoolers who lived in methamphetamine‐producing homes are at increased risk for developing psychological problems. Methods: The participants were 58 white children between the ages of 4 and 5 years; 31 with a history of living in methamphetamine‐producing homes and 27 children who live in non‐methamphetamine producing homes in rural Tennessee. The groups were similar in age, gender, and socioeconomic background. The groups were compared for behavioral and emotional adjustment using the behavior assessment system for children‐parent rating scale‐preschool (BASC‐PRS‐P) form. Biological or custodian parents completed a rating on their preschoolers that provided information about the children's pattern of behavior and feelings. Findings: Preschoolers from the methamphetamine‐producing homes showed more externalizing problems than their peers, but were comparable on internalizing problems. On specific behaviors, the data indicate that preschoolers in the methamphetamine group showed higher aggression symptoms than their peers from non‐methamphetamine‐producing homes. Conclusions: These findings, if replicated, point to the need for mental health screening when a child is removed from a methamphetamine‐producing home.
Urban‐Rural Differences in Motivation to Control Prejudice Toward People With HIV/AIDS: The Impact of Perceived Identifiability in the Community
Authors: Bunn Janice Yanushka , Solomon Sondra E. , Varni Susan E. , Miller Carol T. , Forehand Rex L. , Ashikaga Takamaru 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACT:
Context:

HIV/AIDS is occurring with increasing frequency in rural areas of the United States, and people living with HIV/AIDS in rural communities report higher levels of perceived stigma than their more urban counterparts. The extent to which stigmatized individuals perceive stigma could be influenced, in part, by prevailing community attitudes. Differences between rural and more metropolitan community members' attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS, however, have rarely been examined. Purpose: This study investigated motivation to control prejudice toward people with HIV/AIDS among non‐infected residents of metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural areas of rural New England. Methods: A total of 2,444 individuals were identified through a random digit dialing sampling scheme, and completed a telephone interview to determine attitudes and concerns about a variety of health issues. Internal or external motivation to control prejudice was examined using a general linear mixed model approach, with independent variables including age, gender, community size, and perceived indentifiability within one's community. Findings: Results showed that community size, by itself, was not related to motivation to control prejudice. However, there was a significant interaction between community size and community residents' perceptions about the extent to which people in their communities know who they are. Conclusion: Our results indicate that residents of rural areas, in general, may not show a higher level of bias toward people with HIV/AIDS. The interaction between community size and perceived identifiability, however, suggests that motivation to control prejudice, and potentially the subsequent expression of that prejudice, is more complex than originally thought.
How Does Degree of Rurality Impact the Provision of Surgical Services at Rural Hospitals?
Authors: Doty Brit , Zuckerman Randall , Finlayson Samuel , Jenkins Paul , Rieb Nathaniel , Heneghan Steven 
Published: July 2008

ABSTRACT:

Context:
Rural residents frequently have decreased access to surgical services. Consequences of this situation include increased travel time and financial costs for patients. There are also economic implications for hospitals as they may lose revenue when patients leave the area in order to obtain surgical services. Rural communities vary in size and distance from more populated centers. Since rural hospitals are located in varying types of rural communities, they likely differ with regard to the provision of surgical care. Purpose: To describe the differences between hospitals located in smaller versus larger rural areas regarding the provision of surgical care. Methods: A 12‐item survey instrument based on one previously used in a pilot study was mailed to a national random sample of rural hospital administrators (n = 233). Rural location was determined using rural‐urban commuting area codes. Findings: One hundred and eleven surveys were received, yielding a 48% response rate. Hospitals in larger rural areas had an average of 9 surgeons compared to 1 at hospitals in smaller rural areas. More administrators at hospitals located in larger rural areas viewed the ability to provide surgical care as very important to the financial viability of their hospital. Conclusions: Among rural hospitals located in communities of varying sizes there are significant differences in how surgical services are delivered and the financial importance of providing surgical care. Administrators at hospitals located in larger rural areas, more than in smaller ones, report financial reliance on their ability to offer surgical care and have significantly more resources available to do so.
Consequences of injuries on survival and reproduction of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) along the west coast of Florida
Authors: Wells Randall S. , Allen Jason B. , Hofmann Suzanne , Bassos‐Hull Kim , Fauquier Deborah A. , Barros Nélio B. , DeLynn Ruth E. , Sutton Gretchen , Socha Victoria , Scott Michael D. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractAccurate identification of human‐induced injuries that lead to death or interfere with reproduction is important for marine mammal management, as deaths exceeding established limits can lead to restrictions on fisheries or vessel operations. The fates of cetaceans last seen swimming with attached gear, particularly in pelagic fisheries, or with vessel strike lacerations, have been difficult to predict. Survival and reproduction data from long‐term research on resident common bottlenose dolphins near Sarasota, Florida were examined relative to consequences of fishing gear ingestion, line entanglements, vessel strikes, and amputations of unknown origins. Fishing hooks embedded in the throat, goosebeak, or esophagus, or line wrapped around the goosebeak, generally lead to death. Multiple, constrictive line wraps around fin insertions can lead to amputation, blood loss, impaired mobility, or infection. Dolphins with ingested gear or severe entanglements may swim away with the gear, but likely die later. Propeller injuries involving only soft tissue were often survivable. Some dolphins survived amputations of the distal ends of fins, and continued to reproduce. As a precautionary approach, dolphins with ingested gear or severe constrictive entanglements should be considered mortalities, but extrapolations of findings from coastal bottlenose dolphins to other cetaceans and different gear must be done with caution.
Urban (Homo)Sexualities: Ordinary Cities and Ordinary Sexualities
Authors: Brown Gavin 
Published: July 2008

AbstractThis article appraises the current state of research on urban sexualities and suggests some underexamined areas of research that might productively be explored further. This review primarily focuses on studies of gay space and urban homosexualities, as this remains the largest body of work on urban sexualities within geography. I argue that this work has got caught in a trap of concentrating on the production of gay identities and spaces within small areas of a relatively small set of cities, against which all other spaces are implicitly assessed. Drawing on recent post‐colonial debates within urban geography, this article argues that it is time for sexual geographers to expand their horizons and move beyond this hierarchy of metropolitan gay centres, to study a broader range of sexualities and spaces in ‘ordinary cities’ assessed on their own terms. To this end, the article considers work on gay domestic spaces in suburban Australia, and the interaction of local homosexualities with transnational ‘gay’ identity in Chengdu, China. This work offers productive examples of studying gay space across the whole city and attending to urban homosexualities outside of the world cities of the Global North.
RASSF1A, BLU, NORE1A, PTEN and MGMT Expression and Promoter Methylation in Gliomas and Glioma Cell Lines and Evidence of Deregulated Expression of de novo DNMTs
Authors: Lorente Aiala , Mueller Wolf , Urdangarín Edurne , Lázcoz Paula , Lass Ulrike , Von Deimling Andreas , Castresana Javier S. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractMethylation of CpG islands in gene promoters can lead to gene silencing. Together with deletion or mutation, it may cause a loss of function of tumor suppressor genes. RASSF1A (3p21.3), NORE1A (1q32.1) and BLU (3p21.3) have been shown to be downregulated by methylation in cancer, and PTEN (10q23.3) and MGMT (10q26.1) are located in areas commonly deleted in astrocytomas. MGMT methylation predicts a better response and a longer overall survival in patients with glioblastomas treated with temozolomide. We analyzed 53 astrocytoma samples and 10 high‐grade glioma cell lines. Gene expression was assessed by RT‐PCR. Bisulfite sequencing, MSP and a melting curve analysis‐based real‐time PCR were performed to detect promoter methylation. Treatments with 5′‐aza‐2′‐deoxicitidine were applied to restore gene expression in cell lines. Ninety‐two percent of tumor samples were methylated for RASSF1A, 30%–57% for BLU and 47% for MGMT, suggesting promoter methylation of these genes to be a common event in glioma tumorigenesis. Only 4% of the tumors revealed a methylated promoter for NORE1A. No association between methylation and loss of expression could be established for PTEN. We identified de novo DNMTs overexpression in a subset of tumors which may explain the methylation phenotype of individual gliomas.
Inter‐Laboratory Assessment of PrPSc Typing in Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease: A Western Blot Study within the NeuroPrion Consortium
Authors: Parchi Piero , Notari Silvio , Weber Petra , Schimmel Heinz , Budka Herbert , Ferrer Isidre , Haik Stéphane , Hauw Jean‐Jacques , Head Mark W , Ironside James W , Limido Lucia , Rodriguez Agustin , Ströbel Thomas , Tagliavini Fabrizio , Kretzschmar Hans A. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractMolecular typing is of considerable importance for the surveillance and epidemiology of human transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). It relies on the detection of distinct protease‐resistant prion protein (PrPSc) core fragments that differ in molecular mass and/or glycoform ratio. In this collaborative study, we tested the inter‐laboratory agreement in TSE molecular typing. Sixteen characterized brain specimens from sporadic TSEs and variant Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (vCJD) cases were distributed blindly to seven laboratories for molecular characterization by a defined protocol and classification. Agreement between laboratories in the classification of samples was excellent. In particular, there were no differences in the distinction between PrPSc type 1, type 2A, and type 2B with one exception, which eventually was identified as a case with types 1 and 2 co‐occurrence. This shows that the general technique and particular classification system used here are robust and represent a reliable basis for diagnostic and epidemiologic purposes. The subtle further distinction of subtypes among type 1 and type 2 groups requires high‐sensitivity gel electrophoresis protocols that are unsuitable for routine diagnostic needs and must be reserved for research investigations. Further research is necessary on the identification and significance of co‐occurrence of PrPSc types 1 and 2 within one brain.
Haematological values from a Gambian cohort – possible reference range for a West African population
Authors: ADETIFA I. M. O. , HILL P. C. , JEFFRIES D. J. , JACKSON‐SILLAH D. , IBANGA H. B. , BAH G. , DONKOR S. , CORRAH T. , ADEGBOLA R. A. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryThe objective of this study was to establish haematological reference ranges for the West African subregion using a Gambian cohort. We analysed full blood counts from 1279 subjects aged ≥1 year. Anthropometric and body composition measurements were performed. Haematological mean values, medians and 90% reference values were calculated and related to malnutrition in children and thinness and/or obesity in adults. Haemoglobin (Hb) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) significantly increased with age (P < 0.00001). There were gender‐related changes in Hb from 15 years of age (P = 0.001) and for MCV only in adults (P = 0.0002). Hb was significantly reduced in underweight and stunted children (P = 0.0001 and 0.0002, respectively) but was unaffected by thinness or obesity in adults. White blood cell (WBC) and platelet counts were highest under 5 years and declined significantly with age (P < 0.0001 and 0.0001). While, there were no gender‐related differences with WBC, there were higher WBC counts in underweight (P = 0.0001) and stunted (P < 0.0001) children. Adult females had significantly higher mean platelet counts compared with males (P = 0.006). The mean and median values of haematological parameters in The Gambia are similar to other standards but the 90% reference range for each parameter encompasses lower values when compared with Western standards.
A Bayesian Multiple Comparison Procedure for Order‐Restricted Mixed Models
Authors: Shang Junfeng , Cavanaugh Joseph E. , Wright Farroll T. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryA Bayesian hierarchical mixed model is developed for multiple comparisons under a simple order restriction. The model facilitates inferences on the successive differences of the population means, for which we choose independent prior distributions that are mixtures of an exponential distribution and a discrete distribution with its entire mass at zero. We employ Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques to obtain parameter estimates and estimates of the posterior probabilities that any two of the means are equal. The latter estimates allow one both to determine if any two means are significantly different and to test the homogeneity of all of the means. We investigate the performance of the model‐based inferences with simulated data sets, focusing on parameter estimation and successive‐mean comparisons using posterior probabilities. We then illustrate the utility of the model in an application based on data from a study designed to reduce lead blood concentrations in children with elevated levels. Our results show that the proposed hierarchical model can effectively unify parameter estimation, tests of hypotheses and multiple comparisons in one setting.
The impact of upland land management on flooding: insights from a multiscale experimental and modelling programme
Authors: Jackson B.M. , Wheater H.S. , Mcintyre N.R. , Chell J. , Francis O.J. , Frogbrook Z. , Marshall M. , Reynolds B. , Solloway I. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractA programme of field experiments at the Pontbren catchment in Wales has, since autumn 2004, been examining the effects of land use change on flooding. The Pontbren catchment possesses a long history of artificial drainage of its clay soils and intensification of sheep farming. Increased flood runoff has been noted within the last decades, as has the mitigating effect of trees at field scale. To examine the local and catchment‐scale effects of land management within the catchment, including the potential advantages of planting additional trees, a multidimensional physically based model has been developed and conditioned on data from an intensely instrumented hillslope. The model is used to examine the effects of planting a small strip of trees within a hillslope. Results demonstrate that careful placement of such interventions can reduce magnitudes of flood peaks by 40% at the field scale. The challenges associated with upscaling these results to the Pontbren and Upper Severn catchments are discussed.
Challenges in urban flood management: travelling across spatial and temporal scales
Authors: Zevenbergen C. , Veerbeek W. , Gersonius B. , Van Herk S. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractUrban floods cannot be managed in isolation at the city scale and responses to potential flood impacts are complicated by interlinked political, socio‐economic and environmental changes. To understand the unique features of urban flood management, a framework should be developed in which spatio‐temporal relations are further defined and investigated. This should provide clarity regarding both the feedback loops that cause vulnerability as well as those that build resilience, and how they interact across differing spatial scales. Various insights and methods from system and complexity theory could provide hands‐on methods to create such a framework. Yet the transition towards system‐based approaches is still surrounded by many unknown factors; more effort should be put into developing a roadmap towards this transition. It is argued that local‐scale pioneering and experimentation are essential in this process to encourage the cultivation of resilience through bottom‐up initiatives that can shape strategy and policy development.
Using satellite‐based rainfall estimates for streamflow modelling: Bagmati Basin
Authors: Shrestha M.S. , Artan G.A. , Bajracharya S.R. , Sharma R.R. 
Published: July 2008

AbstractIn this study, we have described a hydrologic modelling system that uses satellite‐based rainfall estimates and weather forecast data for the Bagmati River Basin of Nepal. The hydrologic model described is the US Geological Survey (USGS) Geospatial Stream Flow Model (GeoSFM). The GeoSFM is a spatially semidistributed, physically based hydrologic model. We have used the GeoSFM to estimate the streamflow of the Bagmati Basin at Pandhera Dovan hydrometric station. To determine the hydrologic connectivity, we have used the USGS Hydro1k DEM dataset. The model was forced by daily estimates of rainfall and evapotranspiration derived from weather model data. The rainfall estimates used for the modelling are those produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Centre and observed at ground rain gauge stations. The model parameters were estimated from globally available soil and land cover datasets – the Digital Soil Map of the World by FAO and the USGS Global Land Cover dataset. The model predicted the daily streamflow at Pandhera Dovan gauging station. The comparison of the simulated and observed flows at Pandhera Dovan showed that the GeoSFM model performed well in simulating the flows of the Bagmati Basin.