bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A comparative analysis of estimation of age at menarche by various methods in women participating in the Krakow Longitudinal Growth Study, Poland
Authors: Żarów Ryszard , Cichocka Barbara A. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to see whether menarcheal age assessment by means of the most frequently used methods that were conducted every time on the same group of girls would yield the same results. One hundred and one Polish girls, whose ages at menarche were recorded in a longitudinal study between 1976 and 1990, were asked to recall the age of menarche in 2004. The mean menarcheal ages of those women were calculated by means of the probit (PA), prospective (AA), retrospective method without age correction (RA), and retrospective method with the recall age corrected by 0.5 year (RcA). The PA, AA, and retrospective methods: RA and RcA revealed results: 13.14 ± 1.1; 13.10 ± 1.1; 13.12 ± 1.36, and 14.39 ± 1.34 years, respectively. The menarcheal AA was insignificantly different from the PA (95% CI) and RA. The RcA was significantly higher than the AA and RA (P = 0.05). The correlation coefficient (r) between AA and RA was 0.70. Only 16% of the interviewed women accurately remembered the date of their menarche, 63% of them missed their menarche time by about 1 year, whereas 22% were wrong by 2 and more years. (1) The PA and the AA method yield comparable results when estimating menarcheal age. (2) The menarcheal age determined by the retrospective methods is not very reliable and the application of age correction overestimates the results. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Major gene effect and additive familial pattern of inheritance of asthma exist among families of probands with sickle cell anemia and asthma
Authors: Phillips Keydra L. , An Ping , Boyd Jessica H. , Strunk Robert C. , Casella James F. , Barton Bruce A. , Debaun Michael R. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractIn the United States, sickle cell anemia (SCA) affects approximately 1 in 400 African‐American newborns. Acute episodes of pain and acute chest syndrome (ACS) are the two leading causes of hospitalization. A relationship between the diagnosis of asthma and the incidence of pain and ACS has been established. We tested the hypothesis that a familial pattern of inheritance of asthma exists among first degree relatives of probands with SCA and asthma. Segregation analysis was performed in 104 families ascertained through affected probands. Of these, 19.7% (41/208) of the parents and 31.8% (28/88) of siblings of affected probands reported having been told by a doctor he or she had asthma at any age. Modes of inheritance were tested, using the Pedigree Analysis Package parameterized for the discrete trait of asthma affection status. A major effect was present and significant. Further tests were performed to determine whether transmission probabilities of the major effect followed Mendelian expectations. The additive mode of inheritance was the most parsimonious, while the residual heritability was found negligible. Our results support the hypothesis that a familial pattern of inheritance of asthma exists among first degree relatives of probands with SCA and asthma, suggesting that asthma is a co‐morbid condition with SCA rather than a lung disease phenotype mimicking asthma. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Client personality characteristics predict satisfaction with cognitive behavior therapy
Authors: Green Sheryl M. , Hadjistavropoulos Thomas , Sharpe Donald 
Published: December 2007

AbstractRatings of treatment satisfaction are a means for cognitive behavior therapy clients to provide their unique personal perspective on their therapy experience. Treatment satisfaction is a variable of growing importance as a predictor of outcome for various medical and psychological treatments including treatments for chronic pain (D. C. Turk et al., 2003). Our goal was to determine whether satisfaction with cognitive behavior therapy sessions varied as a function of patient personality characteristics in a sample of 43 older adults (average age=72.3 years, SD=8.0) participating in a psychosocial pain management therapy program with a cognitive behavioral orientation. Participants completed the NEO Five Factor Inventory (P. T. Costa, Jr. & R. R. McCrae, 1992) prior to the commencement of treatment and a psychometrically valid questionnaire, assessing satisfaction with psychological therapy, after each therapy session. The core personality dimensions of neuroticism, openness, and agreeableness were predictive of aspects of satisfaction with therapy. These findings have the potential of being useful to clinicians concerned with the prediction of response to therapy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 64: 40–51, 2008.
Scared to lose control? General and health locus of control in females with a phobia of vomiting
Authors: Davidson Angela L. , Boyle Christopher , Lauchlan Fraser 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe term emetophobia (i.e., a fear of vomiting) exists as rather an elusive predicament, often eluding conventional treatment. The present study involved 149 participants, consisting of 51 emetophobics, 48 phobic controls (i.e. those who suffered from a different phobia), and 50 nonphobic controls. Participants were administered the Rotter (1966) Locus of Control Scale and the Health Locus of Control Scale by B.S. Wallston, Wallston, Kaplan, and Maides (1976). Significant differences were found among the three groups; specifically, that emetophobics had a significantly higher internal Locus of Control Scale score with regard to both general and health‐related issues than did the two control groups. It is suggested that vomiting phobics may have a fear of losing control, and that their vomiting phobia is reflective of this alternative, underlying problem. More research is required to explore the association between emetophobia and issues surrounding control; however, the current study suggests that it may be helpful for therapists to consider this aspect when treating a patient with vomiting phobia. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 64: 30–39, 2008.
Psychological treatment of postpartum depression: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Cuijpers Pim , Brännmark Jessica G. , van Straten Annemieke 
Published: December 2007

AbstractPostpartum depression is a widespread and disruptive depressive disorder seriously affecting the lives of new mothers and their families. We conducted a meta‐analysis of controlled and comparative studies of psychological treatments of postpartum depression. Seventeen studies were included. The mean standardized effect size of all psychological treatments compared to control conditions was 0.61 (95% CI: 0.37∼0.85). Several subgroup analyses were conducted. Studies with waiting list control groups had a larger mean effect size (0.96; 95% CI: 0.63∼1.29) than studies with a care‐as‐usual control group (0.41; 95% CI: 0.25∼0.58). No definite conclusions can be drawn about the longer term effects. Too few studies were available to draw conclusions about the relative effects of psychological treatments compared to pharmacological and other treatments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 64: 103–118, 2008.
Sudden gains in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder
Authors: Present Julie , Crits‐Christoph Paul , Connolly Gibbons Mary Beth , Hearon Bridget , Ring‐Kurtz Sarah , Worley Matthew , Gallop Robert 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and timing of sudden gains over the course of brief, psychodynamically oriented treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Data were used from two studies of brief (i.e., 16‐session) supportive‐expressive psychotherapy for GAD. Anxiety symptoms were measured at every weekly treatment session. Sudden gains in anxiety symptoms were defined to parallel previous research on sudden gains in major depressive disorder (MDD). Overall, sudden gains were found for 11 of 68 participants (16.2%), with 4 (36.4%) of these patients experiencing reversals of these gains and losing over 50% of the sudden gain during subsequent treatment sessions. Applying a baseline severity cutoff and a duration criteria similar to those used in previous studies of sudden gains resulted in 10 of 29 (34.5%) patients showing sudden gains. Of these sudden gainers, 4 (40.0%) experienced a reversal and 7 (70%) experienced an upwards spike in symptoms during their psychotherapy course. When defined in a parallel fashion, rates of sudden gains in GAD are similar to those found in MDD, although anxiety symptoms are highly variable. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 64: 119–126, 2008.
“WE'VE GOT A GUN?”: comparing reports of adolescents and their parents about household firearms
Authors: Sorenson Susan B. , Cook Philip J. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractFirearms are a leading cause of mortality among adolescents, and the guns that adolescents use to harm themselves or others often come from their own homes. In this statewide, multilanguage, community‐based survey of 5,704 coresiding pairs of adolescents and their parents, we asked about guns in the home and compared their responses. The proportions of parents and adolescents responding affirmatively were similar: 25.7% and 26.8%, respectively, for any guns; 15.0% and 13.2%, respectively, for handguns. A paired analysis documented substantial agreement for whether there was any gun in the home and less agreement about whether there was a handgun in the home. The amount of agreement and disagreement was related to household composition and gender of the respondents. The disagreement was substantial for some groups (e.g., when boys residing in households containing a single mother and no other adults reported that there was a gun in the home, 64.8% of their mothers said that there was not a gun in the home). Implications for research and intervention are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Conflicting community commitments: A dialogical analysis of a British woman's World War II diaries
Authors: Gillespie Alex , Cornish Flora , Aveling Emma‐Louise , Zittoun Tania 
Published: December 2007

AbstractRecent developments of the concept of “sense of community” have highlighted the multiplicity of people's senses of community. In this article, the authors introduce the theory of the dialogical self as a means of theorizing the conflicts that can arise between a person's commitments to multiple communities. They ask the question, “When faced with conflicting community commitments, how does a person decide where his or her allegiances lie?” The contribution of the theory of the dialogical self is illustrated through an idiographic analysis of diaries kept by one British woman living through World War II. Conflicting commitments to her home community and to the national community's war effort provoke troubling dilemmas and efforts to resolve them through internal dialogues. Contributions to theory, research, and practice are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Verifying the operational definition of neighborhood for the psychosocial impact of structural deterioration
Authors: Kruger Daniel J. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe physical decay of neighborhoods is associated with social conditions such as disease risk, poor mental health, and fear of crime. Researchers assessing neighborhood effects commonly operationalize neighborhoods via municipal boundaries such as U.S. Census Tracts, although more sophisticated analyses examine structures within a defined radius of respondents, typically .25‐mile. This study verifies the .25‐mile heuristic as a sound operational definition for neighborhood residential structures consequential to social conditions with measures of social contact with neighbors, perceptions of social capital, fear of neighborhood crime, and satisfaction with neighborhood quality of life. Deteriorating commercial structures cluster in smaller areas than deteriorating residential structures; however, the peak consequential radius appears to occur at 4 times the distance of residential structures. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Validation of A brief sense of community scale: Confirmation of the principal theory of sense of community
Authors: Peterson N. Andrew , Speer Paul W. , McMillan David W. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractFirst‐order and second‐order models of sense of community (SOC) were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of data gathered from a random sample of community residents (n=293) located in the midwestern United States. An 8‐item Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) was developed to represent the SOC dimensions of needs fulfillment, group membership, influence, and shared emotional connection. The CFA results for the BSCS supported both the scale's hypothesized first‐order and second‐order factor structure. The overall BSCS scale and its subscales were also found to be correlated as expected with community participation, psychological empowerment, mental health, and depression. Findings provide empirical support for the BSCS and its underlying multidimensional theory of SOC. Implications of the study are described and directions for future research discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The canep scale: preliminary psychometric findings of a measure of youths' perception of their neighborhood environment
Authors: Bisegger Corinna , Cloetta Bernhard , Ravens‐Sieberer Ulrike 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe impact of the environment on the quality of life and health is considered to be important for adults as well as for children and adolescents. To include the subjective view of children and adolescents in this context, instruments for measuring the perception of the environment are needed. The new scale CANEP (Children's and Adolescents' Neighborhood Environment Perception) covers youths' perception of the neighborhood as safe, clean, quiet, and providing opportunities for social contacts with peers. Even if the external validation has not yet been fully completed, the characteristics and contents of the instrument seem plausible and promise to tell more about the relation between environment perception and the well being of the young. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
On the oriented chromatic index of oriented graphs
Authors: Ochem Pascal , Pinlou Alexandre , Sopena Éric 
Published: December 2007

AbstractA homomorphism from an oriented graph G to an oriented graph H is a mapping $\varphi$ from the set of vertices of G to the set of vertices of H such that $\buildrel {\longrightarrow}\over {\varphi (u) \varphi (v)}$ is an arc in H whenever $\buildrel {\longrightarrow}\over {uv}$ is an arc in G. The oriented chromatic index of an oriented graph G is the minimum number of vertices in an oriented graph H such that there exists a homomorphism from the line digraph LD(G) of G to H (the line digraph LD(G) of G is given by V(LD(G)) = A(G) and $\buildrel {\longrightarrow}\over {ab} \in A(LD(G))$ whenever $a=\buildrel {\longrightarrow}\over {uv}$ and $a=\buildrel {\longrightarrow}\over {vw}$).We give upper bounds for the oriented chromatic index of graphs with bounded acyclic chromatic number, of planar graphs and of graphs with bounded degree. We also consider lower and upper bounds of oriented chromatic number in terms of oriented chromatic index. We finally prove that the problem of deciding whether an oriented graph has oriented chromatic index at most k is polynomial time solvable if k ≤ 3 and is NP‐complete if k ≥ 4. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 57: 313–332, 2008
Variable phenotypes associated with mutations in DOK7
Authors: Anderson Jennifer A. , Ng Jarae J. , Bowe Constance , Mcdonald Craig , Richman David P. , Wollmann Robert L. , Maselli Ricardo A. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractMany patients with the limb‐girdle variant of congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS) possess mutations in the human Dok‐7 gene (DOK7). We identified six unrelated CMS patients with DOK7 mutations. Two patients, one mildly and the other moderately affected, were homozygous for the previously described 1263insC mutation. The common 1124_1127dupTGCC mutation was detected in the other four patients, whose clinical phenotypes range from mildly to severely affected. This striking phenotypic heterogeneity found both within and between mutational classes is made more compelling by data from our electrophysiological studies and electron microscopy of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Indeed, several aspects of the physiological and morphometric data do not correlate with genotype or severity of clinical phenotype. Overall, our study corroborates the findings of others and provides an additional demonstration of the considerable phenotypic variability associated with CMS due to DOK7 mutations. Muscle Nerve, 2008
Study on thermoplastic polyurethane/montmorillonite nanocomposites
Authors: Ran Qianping , Zou Hua , Wu Shishan , Shen Jian 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe thermoplastic polyurethane/montmorillonite (TPU/MMT) nanocomposites were prepared by melt intercalation. The structure and property of the TPU/MMT nanocomposites were studied by XRD, TEM, TG, Molau test, and mechanical property measurement. The interlayer spacing between the MMT platelets in TPU/MMT nanocomposites blended for 10 and 15 min was the same. The silicate platelets were dispersed in TPU matrix on 5–15 nm scale for TPU/MMT nanocomposites. The interface interaction between the silicate layers and TPU matrix for TPU/MMT nanocomposites was strong. Compared to those of pure TPU, the tensile strength and tear strength of the TPU/MMT nanocomposites increased. The tensile strength and tear strength of the TPU/MMT nanocomposites decreased with increasing blending time because of the degradation of the TPU matrix. The thermal stability of the TPU/MMT nanocomposites was lower than that of the pure TPU in the first step, whereas in the second step, the TPU/MMT nanocomposites showed higher thermal stability. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers
New antistatic charge and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness from conductive epoxy resin/plasticized carbon black composites
Authors: Aal Nadia Abdel , El‐Tantawy Farid , Al‐Hajry A. , Bououdina M. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractRecently, there is an increasing interest in electromagnetic interference shielding due to the rapid increase in electromagnetic pollution and the wide use of commercial and military products. Conducting polymer composites were prepared in the presence of epoxy resin and plasticized carbon black (CB). The structural characteristics of the composites were examined by means of scanning electron microscopy, cross linking density, and interparticle distance among conductive particles. The mechanical properties such as Young's modulus, elongation at break, and hardness of the composites were investigated as a function of CB content. The results indicated that CB could improve the composite microstructure. The higher mechanical behavior than green epoxy can be attributed to the interaction between CB particles and epoxy resin. The conductivity, mobility carriers, and number of charges of the composites at room temperature were found to be dependent on CB content. The applicability of the composites to antistatic charge dissipation was examined. Dependence of the microwave properties of the epoxy/CB composites on the volume fraction of CB particles and frequency were studied. Moreover the permittivity as a function of frequency of the composites was studied. The electromagnetic wave shielding of epoxy/CB composites is dominant by both reflection and absorption. Composites can find applications in antistatic charge dissipation and in suppression of electromagnetic interference and stealth technology. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers
Effect of cooling rate and crack propagation direction on the mode 1 interlaminar fracture toughness of biaxial noncrimp warp‐knitted fabric composites made of glass/PP commingled yarn
Authors: Wang Yantao , Dong Qingzhi , Xu Yongjun , Zhou Shanhua , Qi Dehai 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThe mode 1 interlaminar fracture toughness of biaxial (±45°) noncrimp warp‐knitted fabric composites made of glass/PP commingled yarn was investigated. The crack propagation along the warp and weft directions, respectively, was considered for the composites cooled at two different rates during laminate molding. The interlaminar fracture toughness was characterized by determining the critical strain energy release rate (GIC) of initiation and propagation measured from the double cantilever beam tests. In the case of a slow cooling rate (1°C/min), most specimens possess pure interlaminar crack propagation and direction‐independence characteristics. Nevertheless, the high‐cooled (10°C/min) specimens fractured in both directions suffer extensive intraply damage (crack branching, debonding, and bridging of 45°‐oriented interfacial yarns) and knit thread breakage, leading to GIC of propagation two times higher than that of the slow‐cooled specimens, and the clear difference in the GIC values of initiation between the two directions may be due to the contribution of the knit thread breakage to the fracture energy. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008 © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers
Polymer–nanofiller prepared by high‐energy ball milling and high velocity cold compaction
Authors: Azhdar Bruska , Stenberg Bengt , Kari Leif 
Published: December 2007

AbstractHigh‐energy ball milling using comilling in a solid state by low‐temperature mechanical alloying to prepare nickel‐ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanopowders and ultrafine poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), dispersing nanoparticles in a polymer matrix, and a uniaxial high‐velocity cold compaction process using a cylindrical, hardened steel die and a new technique with relaxation assists have been studied. The focus has been on the particle size distributions of the nanocomposite powder during the milling and on the surface morphology of the nanocomposite‐compacted materials after compaction with and without relaxation assists. Experimental results for different milling systems are presented showing the effects of milling time and material ratio. It was found that a longer mixing time give a higher degree of dispersion of the nanopowder on the PMMA particle surfaces. Furthermore, with increasing content of NiFe2O4 nanopowder, the reduction of the particle size was more effective. Different postcompacting profiles, i.e. different energy distributions between the upper and lower parts of the compacted powder bed, lead to different movements of the various particles and particle layers. Uniformity, homogeneity, and densification on the surfaces in the compacted powder are influenced by the postcompacting magnitude and direction. It was found that the relaxation assist device leads to an improvement in the polymer powder compaction process by reducing the expansion of the compacted volume and by reducing the different opposite velocities, giving the compacted composite bed a more homogeneous opposite velocity during the decompacting stage and reducing the delay time between the successive pressure waves. POLYM. COMPOS., 2008. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers