bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long‐term effects of anal sphincter rupture during vaginal delivery: faecal incontinence and sexual complaints
Authors: Mous M , Muller SA , De Leeuw JW 
Published: November 2007

Objective  To determine the long‐term effects of obstetric anal sphincter rupture on the frequency of faecal incontinence and sexual complaints.Design  Retrospective case–control study.Setting  Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Ikazia Hospital, The Netherlands.Population  All 171 women operated for anal sphincter rupture between 1971 and 1990 and 171 controls matched for parity and date of delivery.Methods  Postal questionnaires regarding faecal incontinence were sent in 1996 and 2005 to all cases and controls with questions regarding sexual complaints added to the questionnaire in 2005.Main outcome measures  Anorectal complaints defined as any form of faecal incontinence including faecal urgency and faecal soiling. Sexual complaints defined as dyspareunia or faecal incontinence during intercourse.Results  Sixty‐one percent of the women responded to both questionnaires. Anorectal complaints were reported by 38% of case versus 16% of controls in 1996 (risk difference: 0.22, 95% CI 0.10–0.34) and by 61% of cases versus 22% of controls in 2005 (risk difference: 0.41, 95% CI 0.29–0.53). In contrast to the control group, the increase of anorectal complaints in the case group between 1996 and 2005 was highly significant (P < 0.0001). Postmenopausal state was not associated with an increased risk for faecal incontinence. Dyspareunia was reported by 29% of cases versus 13% of controls (P = 0.01). Faecal incontinence during intercourse was reported by 13% of cases versus 1% of controls (P = 0.005).Conclusions  Obstetric anal sphincter rupture is an important risk factor for sexual complaints and for faecal incontinence increasing with age irrespective of menopausal state.
Managing back pain in pregnancy using a support garment: a randomised trial
Authors: Kalus SM , Kornman LH , Quinlivan JA 
Published: November 2007

Objective  Large population studies have shown that low back pain affects about 50% of pregnant women. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of the BellyBra® in pregnant women with back pain is associated with changes in assessments of pain severity, physical activity and satisfaction with life after 3 weeks of intervention compared with tubigrip, a more generic form of support.Design  Randomised controlled trial.Setting  A tertiary referral hospital in Australia.Population  Women between 20 and 36 weeks of pregnancy with lumbar back or posterior pelvic pain.Methods  Participants were randomised to the BellyBra® (the study device) or to tubigrip (the control) by means of computer‐generated numbered, sealed, opaque envelopes.Main outcome measures  The primary outcomes were pain severity and physical activity, and the secondary outcome was satisfaction with life.Results  One hundred and fifteen women consented to participate in the trial. Mean visual analogue scale scores of pain severity decreased from 6.1 to 4.5 in the study device group (P= 0.001) and from 6.0 to 4.7 in the control group (P= 0.003). There was no significant difference between the groups in this outcome (P= 0.61). However, the study device group demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in Likert scale assessments of the impact of back pain on sleeping (P= 0.007), getting up from a sitting position (P= 0.02) and walking (P= 0.001) than the control group. There was also a significant reduction in the use of analgesic medication in the study group (P= 0.01).Conclusion  The BellyBra® and tubigrip were both associated with a reduction in the severity of pregnancy‐related low back pain. The BellyBra® was more effective than tubigrip, however, in alleviating the impact of pain on a number of physical activities that constitute daily life.
Antiepileptic drug use, folic acid supplementation, and congenital abnormalities: a population‐based case–control study
Authors: Kjær D , Horvath‐Puhó E , Christensen J , Vestergaard M , Czeizel AE , Sørensen HT , Olsen J 
Published: November 2007

Objective  To investigate whether folic acid supplementation in early pregnancy modifies the association between the prevalence of congenital abnormalities in the offspring and maternal use of carbamazepine (CBZ), phenobarbital (PB), phenytoin (PHT), and primidone (PRI).Design  A population‐based case–control study.Setting  The Hungarian Case–Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities (HCCSCA) (1980–1996) and its information on children from the Hungarian Congenital Abnormality Registry and the Hungarian National Birth Registry.Population  Children with congenital abnormalities (cases; n= 20 792, of whom 148 had been exposed to antiepileptic drugs [AEDs]) and unaffected children (controls; n= 38 151, of whom 184 had been exposed to AEDs).Methods  Information on drug exposure and background variables for the mothers were collected from antenatal logbooks, discharge summaries, and structured questionnaires completed by the mothers at the time of HCCSCA registration.Main outcome measures  Congenital abnormalities detected at termination of pregnancy, at birth or until 3 months of age according to CBZ, PB, PHT, or PRI exposure at 5–12 weeks from first day of the last menstrual period (LMP), stratified by folic acid supplementation.Results  Compared with children unexposed to AEDs and folic acid, the odds ratio of congenital abnormalities was 1.47 (95% CI 1.13–1.90) in children exposed to AEDs without folic acid supplementation and 1.27 (95% CI 0.85–1.89) for children exposed to AEDs with folic acid supplementation.Conclusion  The results indicate that the risk of congenital abnormalities in children exposed in utero to CBZ, PB, PHT, and PRI is reduced but not eliminated by folic acid supplementation at 5–12 weeks from LMP. The statistical precision in our study is limited due to rarity of the exposures, and further studies are needed.
Mediolateral episiotomy reduces the risk for anal sphincter injury during operative vaginal delivery
Authors: De Leeuw JW , De Wit C , Kuijken JPJA , Bruinse HW 
Published: November 2007

Objective  To determine the risk factors for anal sphincter injuries during operative vaginal delivery.Setting and design  A population‐based observational study.Population  All 21 254 women delivered with vacuum extraction and 7478 women delivered with forceps, derived from the previously validated Dutch National Obstetric Database from the years 1994 to 1995.Methods  Anal sphincter injury was defined as any injury, partial or complete, of the anal sphincters. Risk factors were determined with multivariate logistic regression analysis.Main outcome measures  Individual obstetric factors, e.g. fetal birthweights, duration of second stage, etc.Results  Anal sphincter injury occurred in 3.0% of vacuum extractions and in 4.7% of forceps deliveries. Primiparity, occipitoposterior position and fetal birthweight were associated with an increased risk for anal sphincter injury in both types of operative vaginal delivery, whereas duration of second stage was associated with an increased risk only in vacuum extractions. Mediolateral episiotomy protected significantly for anal sphincter damage in both vacuum extraction (OR 0.11, 95% CI 0.09–0.13) and forceps delivery (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.07–0.11). The number of mediolateral episiotomies needed to prevent one sphincter injury in vacuum extractions was 12, whereas 5 mediolateral episiotomies could prevent one sphincter injury in forceps deliveries.Conclusions  Primiparity and occipitoposterior presentation are strong risk factors for the occurrence of anal sphincter injury during operative vaginal delivery. The highly significant protective effect of mediolateral episiotomies in both types of operative vaginal delivery warrants the conclusions that this type of episiotomy should be used routinely during these interventions to protect the anal sphincters.
Increased perinatal mortality and morbidity in monochorionic versus dichorionic twin pregnancies: clinical implications of a large Dutch cohort study
Authors: Hack KEA , Derks JB , Elias SG , Franx A , Roos EJ , Voerman SK , Bode CL , Koopman‐Esseboom C , Visser GHA 
Published: November 2007

Objective  To evaluate mortality and morbidity in a large cohort of twin pregnancies according to chorionicity. We aimed to estimate the optimal time of delivery.Design  Historical cohort design.Setting  Two teaching hospitals.Population  Twin pregnancies delivered in the University Medical Centre, Utrecht, and the St Elisabeth Hospital, Tilburg (1995–2004), The Netherlands (n = 1407).Methods  Pregnancy outcomes were documented according to chorionicity. Mortality ≥32 weeks was reviewed carefully with special attention to antenatal fetal monitoring, autopsy and placental histopathology to find an explanation for adverse outcome.Main outcome measures  Perinatal mortality and morbidity in monochorionic (MC) and dichorionic (DC) twins.Results  Perinatal mortality was 11.6% in MC twin pregnancies and 5.0% in DC twin pregnancies. After 32 weeks, the risk of intrauterine death (IUD) was significantly higher in MC twins than in DC twins (hazard ratio 8.8, 95% CI 2.7–28.9). In most of these cases of IUD, no antenatal signs of impaired fetal condition had been present. Median gestational age was 1 week longer in DC twins than in MC twins, and the mean birthweight was 221 g higher. Severe birthweight discordancy (>20%) occurred more often in MC twins than in DC twins (OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.97–1.55). The incidence of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) was higher in MC twins, after adjustment for age and weight at birth (OR 4.05, 95% CI 1.97–8.35). There was a trend towards higher neuromorbidity in MC twins.Conclusions  This is the largest cohort study of twin pregnancies evaluating outcome according to chorionicity thus far. MC twins are at increased risk for fetal death (even at term), NEC and neuromorbidity. Current antenatal care is insufficient to predict and prevent this excess perinatal mortality and morbidity. Planned delivery at or even before 37 weeks of gestation seems to be justified for MC twins.
Saint-Venant’s Problem for Homogeneous Piezoelectric Beams
Authors: Rovenski Vladimir , Harash Eugene , Abramovich Haim 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThis paper is devoted to the linear analysis of a slender homogeneous piezoelectric beam that undergoes tip loading. The solution of the Saint-Venant’s problem presented in this paper generalizes the known solution for a homogeneous elastic beam. The analytical approach in this study is based on the Saint-Venant’s semi-inverse method generalized to electroelasticity, where the stress, strain, and (electrical) displacement components are presented as a set of initially assumed expressions that contain tip parameters, six unknown coefficients, and three pairs of auxiliary (torsion/bending) functions in two variables. These pairs of functions satisfy the so-called coupled Neumann problem (CNP) in the cross-sectional domain. In the limit “elastic” case the CNP transforms to the Neumann problem, for a beam made of a poled piezoceramics the CNP is decomposed into two Neumann problems. The paper develops concepts of the torsion/bending functions, the torsional rigidity and shear center, the tip coupling matrix for a piezoelectric beam. Examples of exact and numerical solutions for elliptical and rectangular beams are presented.
A Novel
Finite-Element– Numerical-Integration Model for Composite Laminates Supported on Opposite
Edges
Authors: Kant Tarun , Pendhari Sandeep
S. , Desai Yogesh
M. 
Published: November 2007

Abstract
An attempt is made here to devise a new methodology for an integrated stress analysis of laminated composite plates wherein both in-plane and transverse stresses are evaluated simultaneously. The method is based on the governing three-dimensional (3D) partial differential equations (PDEs) of elasticity. A systematic procedure is developed for a case when one of the two in-plane dimensions of the laminate is considered infinitely long (y direction) with no changes in loading and boundary conditions in that direction. The laminate could then be considered in a two-dimensional (2D) state of plane strain in x-z plane. It is here that the governing 2D PDEs are transformed into a coupled system of first-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs) in transverse z direction by introducing partial discretization in the finite inplane direction x. The mathematical model thus reduces to solution of a boundary value problem (BVP) in the transverse z direction in ODEs. This BVP is then transformed into a set of initial value problems (IVPs) so as to use the available efficient and effective numerical integrators for them. Through thickness displacement and stress fields at the finite element discrete nodes are observed to be in excellent agreement with the elasticity solution. A few new results for cross-ply laminates under clamped support conditions are also presented for future reference and also to show the generality of the formulation.
Fatigue Modeling for
Elastic Materials With Statistically Distributed
Defects
Authors: Kudish Ilya
I. 
Published: November 2007

Abstract
The paper is devoted to formulation and analysis of a new model of structural fatigue that is a direct extension of the model of contact fatigue developed by Kudish (2000, STLE Tribol. Trans., 43, pp. 711–721). The model is different from other published models of structural fatigue (Collins, J. A., 1993, Failure of Materials and Mechanical Design: Analysis, Prediction, Prevention, 2nd ed., Wiley, New York) in a number of aspects such as statistical approach to material defects, stress analysis, etc. The model is based on fracture mechanics and fatigue crack propagation. The model takes into account local stress distribution, initial statistical distribution of defects versus their size, crack location, and orientation, and material fatigue resistance parameters. The assumptions used for the new model derivation are stated clearly and their validity is discussed. The model considers the kinetics of crack distribution by taking into account the fact that the crack distribution varies with the number of applied loading cycles due to crack growth. A qualitative and quantitative parametric analysis of the model is performed. Some analytical formulas for fatigue life as a function of the initial defect distribution, material fatigue resistance, and stress state are obtained. Examples of application of the model to predicting fatigue of beam bending and torsion and contact fatigue for tapered bearings is presented.
Reynolds-Stress
Modeling of Three-Dimensional Secondary Flows With Emphasis on Turbulent Diffusion
Closure
Authors: Vallet I. 
Published: November 2007

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to assess the importance of the explicit dependence of turbulent diffusion on the gradients of mean-velocity modeling in second moment closures on three-dimensional (3D) detached and secondary flows prediction. Following recent theoretical work of Younis, Gatski, and Speziale, 2000, [Proc. Royal Society Lon. A, 456, pp. 909–920], we propose a triple-velocity correlation model, including the effects of the spatial gradients of mean velocity. A model for both the slow and rapid parts of the pressure-diffusion term was also developed and added to a wall-normal-free Reynolds-stress model. The present model is validated against 3D detached and secondary flows. Further developments, especially on the echo terms (which should appear in the formulation of pressure-velocity correlation), are discussed.
Minimizing and Restricting Vibrations in High-Speed Cam-Follower
Systems Over a Range of Speeds
Authors: Jiang J. K. , Iwai Y. R. , Su H. 
Published: November 2007

Abstract
Over a range of cam speeds, the problems of minimizing and restricting vibrations in high-speed cam-follower systems over a range of speeds are formulated as constrained optimization problems. A universal Hermite cam displacement is suggested. The combination of these methods can form a general design environment. In this environment, the designer can arbitrarily select one to formulate as the objective function from quantifiable cam properties such as the residual vibration, primary vibration, pressure angle, radius of curvature, and contact stress, while the rest of quantifiable cam properties can be formulated as the design constraints.
On the Analytic Solution of Magnetohydrodynamic Flow of a Second
Grade Fluid Over a Shrinking Sheet
Authors: Hayat T. , Abbas Z. , Sajid M. 
Published: November 2007

Abstract
In this study, we derive an analytical solution describing the magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer flow of a second grade fluid over a shrinking sheet. Both exact and series solutions have been determined. For the series solution, the governing nonlinear problem is solved using the homotopy analysis method. The convergence of the obtained solution is analyzed explicitly. Graphical results have been presented and discussed for the pertinent parameters.
Extension of
Stoney’s Formula to Arbitrary Temperature Distributions in Thin Film/Substrate
Systems
Authors: Huang Y. , Rosakis A.
J. 
Published: November 2007

Abstract
Current methodologies used for the inference of thin film stress through curvature measurements are strictly restricted to stress and curvature states that are assumed to remain uniform over the entire film/substrate system. By considering a circular thin film/substrate system subject to nonuniform and nonaxisymmetric temperature distributions, we derive relations between the film stresses and temperature, and between the plate system’s curvatures and the temperature. These relations featured a “local” part that involves a direct dependence of the stress or curvature components on the temperature at the same point, and a “nonlocal” part that reflects the effect of temperature of other points on the location of scrutiny. Most notably, we also derive relations between the polar components of the film stress and those of system curvatures which allow for the experimental inference of such stresses from full-field curvature measurements in the presence of arbitrary nonuniformities. These relations also feature a “nonlocal” dependence on curvatures making full-field measurements of curvature a necessity for the correct inference of stress. Finally, it is shown that the interfacial shear tractions between the film and the substrate are related to the gradients of the first curvature invariant and can also be inferred experimentally.
HUMAN RELIABITIY AND FLIGHT SAFETY
Authors: AFRAZEH ABBAS , BARTSCH HEINZ 
Published: November 2007

This paper through a systematic view considers the subject of Airplane — Flight crew system, as an intricate system of Man and Machine. And we study its Reliability on Flight Safety with an emphasis on Human factor. Aiming at the above goals. As we define the constituents of the system from a Socio-Technical perspective, introduce main factors involved in brining about Human errors in such a system. Finally we discuss the methods and procedures for the reduction of these errors which leads eventually to the promotion of Human reliability and consequently the Flight Safety.
An International Conscience Collective? A Durkheimian Analysis of International Criminal Law
Authors: Nimaga Salif 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThis socio-legal approach to international criminal law is informed by the writings of Émile Durkheim, one of the founding fathers of (legal) sociology. On the basis of a comprehensive review of primary sources and recent developments in secondary writings, Durkheim's understanding of criminal law and its sanctioning process are reconstructed. From this perspective the international criminal justice system is analysed both directly and indirectly. The first is a sociological interpretation that perceives international criminal law as being rooted in the cult of the individual. The second brings a clarification of the function international criminal tribunals perform and concludes that this cannot be adequately appraised with regard to effects on individuals or nation-states but only with regard to an emerging global society. This highly original investigation is a demonstration of the enduring relevance of Durkheim's oeuvre and a contribution to the developing diversification of theoretical perspectives on international criminal law.
The European Union and the International Criminal Court: An Awkward Symbiosis in Interesting Times
Authors: Bekou Olympia , Antoniadis Antonis 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThe aim of this article is to provide an overview and to evaluate the EU-ICC partnership. The analysis includes the measures the EU has taken to commit to the ICC cause and implement the Rome Statute and their impact on EU policy-making. These include the EU-ICC Cooperation Agreement as well as EU Third Pillar measures affecting Member State cooperation with the ICC and governing the investigation and prosecution of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC. The issue of judicial protection and respect of fundamental rights in the EU under the Third Pillar will also be addressed. Finally, the analysis of EU initiatives, primarily in its relations with third countries, to preserve the universality and integrity of the Rome Statute will follow.
The Dissonance between the United Nations Zero-Tolerance Policy and the Criminalisation of Sexual Offences on the International Level
Authors: Quénivet Noëlle 
Published: November 2007

AbstractAs a growing number of stories unravelled the involvement of United Nations peacekeepers in human trafficking and sexual exploitation cases, the United Nations adopted in 2003 and implemented a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual encounters between peacekeepers and local women. This article argues that this policy is flawed for a number of reasons. First, it does not apply to all United Nations-related personnel and thereby fails to target those who are mostly engaged in such activities. Second, it only provides for disciplinary measures, a flaw only partially remedied by the draft convention on the criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission. Third, it does not take into account the jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals on sexual offences, for it negates the possibility of consent.
Familiarity and threat of opponents determine variation in Thomas langur (Presbytis thomasi) male behaviour during between-group encounters
Authors: Wich Serge , Sterck Elisabeth 
Published: November 2007

Abstract
During between-group encounters in primates, males often defend mates, food or infants against other males. Males, however, show variation in contests between opponents. In other taxa, such variation has been attributed to variation in familiarity with or threat of opponents. Here we present the results of analyses of between-group encounter intensity variation in Thomas langurs while controlling for threat when evaluating familiarity and vice versa. Encounter intensity was measured by the proportion of encounters with chases and the number of loud calls per minute during the encounter given by the focal male. The results indicate that both familiarity and threat influence encounter intensity. Less familiar opponents had more intense encounters and opponents that differed in the threat level to each other also had more intense encounters. Thus, Thomas langur males seem to incorporate information on both the level of threat and familiarity of other males to make a decision on how to react during a between-group encounter.