bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Smoking Knowledge, Attitudes, Behavior, and Associated Factors Among Chinese Male Surgeons
Authors: Yao Tingting , Ong Michael , Lee Anita , Jiang Yuan , Mao Zhengzhong 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackgroundThe purpose of this study was to understand and assess the smoking knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and associated factors among Chinese male surgeons.MethodsA total of 823 Chinese male surgeons from six cities in China participated in a survey of smoking knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in 2004. This study presents descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses of factors associated with the respondents’ smoking behavior and smoking cessation activity.ResultsThe current smoking prevalence for Chinese male surgeons was 45.2, and 42.5% of respondents reported having smoked in front of their patients. Few of the respondents always asked patients about their smoking status (25%) or advised smokers to quit smoking (27.2%). Logistic regression models found that current smoking status was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with the surgeons’ knowledge of the harms of active and passive smoking and their attitudes toward smoke‐free hospitals and health role modeling by physicians. Smoking in front of patients was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with the respondents’ knowledge of active smoking harms, attitudes toward smoke‐free hospitals, and cigarette consumption. The surgeons’ smoking cessation activity was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with their knowledge about the harms of active smoking, their rates of advising patients to quit smoking, and their knowledge of the harms of passive smoking.ConclusionsMale surgeons have the highest smoking prevalence among Chinese physicians. They should actively participate in tobacco control training and education to improve their knowledge and attitudes toward smoking, which will improve their own smoking behavior and smoking cessation practices. Only by engaging all parts of the health care system, including surgeons, can China make headway against its tobacco epidemic.
Social Policies in Uruguay: A View from the Political Dimension of Community Psychology
Authors: Rodríguez-Ferreyra Alicia 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis paper approaches social policy (SP) from the political perspective considered by Montero (Critical psychology: An introduction, Sage, London, pp 231–244, 1997; Community, Work and Family 1(1):65–78, 1998; Introducción a la Psicología Comunitaria. Desarrollo, conceptos y procesos, Paidos, Buenos Aires, pp 89–114, pp 255–284, 2004; Hacer para transformar. El método en la Psicología Comunitaria, Paidos, Buenos Aires, pp 229–256, 2004) as a paradigmatic dimension of community psychology. The field of SP, the characteristics of certain SPs and the role of SP in the production and reproduction of the subjectivities of those subject to them in Uruguay are described and an analysis given of the challenge posed by going from a compensatory or palliative to a transformative mode of SP. It is proposed that identification of, and understanding and intervention in, psychosocial processes in the field are the keys to maximising the likelihood of SPs assuming a transformative character. Psychosocial aspects and participatory processes implicit in the relationship between the State and civil society are discussed. Finally, some orientations for community psychological intervention in this field of action are proposed.
Complete obstetric brachial plexus palsy: Surgical improvement to recover a functional hand
Authors: Maillet Marie , Romana Claudia 
Published: February 2009

Objective Complete obstetrical brachial plexus palsy remains a difficult situation for the child and his/her family. The quality of spontaneous reinnervation is rarely good and always leads to a non-sensitive and non-functional hand, even if abduction of the shoulder and elbow flexion do spontaneously recover. The aim of this study was to assess the results from nerve reconstruction in cases of complete palsy and to demonstrate the effect of a change in surgical technique on the outcome of hand function. Methods Thirty pediatric patients with complete obstetric brachial plexus palsy were operated on in our department between 1987 and 2003. Twenty-five of these patients were clinically reviewed and evaluated by a physiotherapist and a surgeon (not the surgeon who performed the surgery). Functional assessment was based on the Gilbert shoulder score, the Gilbert–Raimondi score for elbow function and the Raimondi hand score. All children underwent a nerve reconstruction as graft and/or intra- or extra-plexual neurotization. Our neural surgical strategy changed between 1995 and 1996 to one that addresses the function of the hand and the wrist. A secondary surgical intervention was required in 18 cases. The most frequent procedures were a radial rotation osteotomy and a tendon transfer restoring wrist extension. Results Mean follow-up was 7 years and 10 months. Among children operated on with the first surgical strategy—the pre-1995–1996 period—hand function was good in three cases, satisfactory in four cases and unsatisfactory in one case. Among children for whom the second surgical strategy was used—1995–1996 and later—hand function was good or very good in eight cases, satisfactory in four cases and unsatisfactory in two cases. When the 25 patients were assessed for shoulder function, the functional result was good or very good in 12 cases, satisfactory in seven cases and unsatisfactory in six cases. In terms of elbow function, the results were good or very good in 14 cases, satisfactory in eight cases and unsatisfactory in three cases. All hands recovered sensation to a certain degree. Conclusion The surgical results are encouraging in terms of shoulder and elbow function, but not as good for hand function. With the change in neural surgical strategy in 1995–1996, when more focus was placed on the hand (second surgical strategy), the results on hand function improved relative to those obtained with the first surgical strategy. It must also be noted that hand recovery requires more time, which may partially explain why functional results are not as good for the hand as for the shoulder and elbow. These results demonstrate that early surgical exploration is useful in complete obstetrical brachial plexus palsies and that there is a need for neural reconstruction of the lower trunk.
The beneficial effect of fructose and glucose on in vitro maturation and the fertilization of porcine oocytes
Authors: Tsujii H. , Lee J. H. , Hossain M. S. , Tareq K. M. A. , Hamano K. , Sawada T. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractPurposeThis study was conducted to investigate the effects of supplementing fructose in the culture medium on in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and metabolism of porcine oocytes.MethodsPorcine oocytes were matured in vitro in modified North Carolina State University 37 medium (NCSU‐37) and then supplemented with either glucose (5.5 mM), fructose (5.5 mM), or glucose (2.75 mM) plus fructose (2.75 mM). The maturation and fertilization of oocytes, and the incorporation and oxidation of 14C‐glucose, 14C‐fructose, and 14C‐methionine in oocytes at different stages of development were examined.ResultsThe supplementation of glucose plus fructose significantly promoted (P < 0.05) oocytes germinal vesicle break down (GVBD), maturation to metaphase II (MII), penetration by spermatozoa, and male pronuclear formation compared with glucose. The incorporation and oxidation of 14C‐methionine into the oocyte significantly increased (P < 0.05) with glucose plus fructose supplementation than glucose. A significantly higher (P < 0.05) rate of incorporation and oxidation was achieved with 14C‐fructose compared to 14C‐glucose.ConclusionsGlucose plus fructose supplementation improved maturation, penetration by spermatozoa, male pronuclear formation, and energy metabolism by porcine oocytes.
A physiological role of contractions in hatched mouse blastocysts
Authors: Niimura Sueo , Sato Junko 
Published: February 2009

AbstractPurposeUsing mouse blastocysts with implantation delayed for 7 days (dormant blastocysts) and time‐lapse videomicrography, we examined the physiological role of contractions in hatched blastocysts.MethodsThe degree and number of contractions in dormant blastocysts were analyzed in images recorded for 48 h of culture, and compared with those in dormant blastocysts in which implantation was induced (activated blastocysts), and dormant blastocysts cultured with estrogen or progesterone.ResultsActivated blastocysts exhibited a significantly smaller number of weak contractions and a significantly larger number of strong contractions, compared with dormant blastocysts. Furthermore, the numbers of weak and strong contractions in dormant blastocysts cultured with estradiol‐17β were significantly less frequent or more frequent than those in dormant blastocysts cultured with progesterone and those cultured without steroids. Expression of estrogen receptor mRNA was also detected in dormant blastocysts by the method of reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction.ConclusionThese results suggested that activated blastocysts enhance the contractions as a preparation for the implantation, and that the enhanced contractions in those serve as a physical stimulation for maternal recognition of pregnancy.
Increased portion size leads to a sustained increase in energy intake over 4 d in normal-weight and overweight men and women
Authors: Kelly Mary T. , Wallace Julie M. W. , Robson Paula J. , Rennie Kirsten L. , Welch Robert W. , Hannon-Fletcher Mary P. , Brennan Sarah , Fletcher Adrian , Livingstone M. B. E. 
Published: February 2009

Large food portions may be facilitating excess energy intake (EI) and adiposity among adults. The present study aimed to assess the extent to which EI and amounts of foods consumed are influenced by the availability of different-sized food portions. A randomised within-subject cross-over, fully residential design was used, where forty-three (twenty-one men and twenty-two women) normal-weight and overweight adults were randomly allocated to two separate 4 d periods where they were presented with either ‘standard’ or ‘large’ food portions of the same foods and beverages. The main outcome measures were the amount of food (g) and EI (MJ) consumed throughout each study period. Mean EI over 4 d was significantly higher on the large portion condition compared with the standard condition in the total group (59·1 (sd 6·6) v. 52·2 (sd 14·3) MJ; P = 0·020); men and women increased their EI by 17 % (10 (sd 6·5) MJ; P < 0·001) and 10 % (4 (sd 6·5) MJ; P = 0·005) respectively when served the large food portions relative to the standard food portions. The increased intakes were sustained over the 4 d in the large portion condition with little evidence of down-regulation of EI and food intake being made by subjects. Increased food portion size resulted in significant and sustained increases in EI in men and women over 4 d under fully residential conditions. The availability and consumption of larger portions of food may be a significant factor contributing to excess EI and adiposity.
FINITE-GAP INTEGRATION OF THE SU(2) BOGOMOLNY EQUATIONS
Authors: BRADEN H. W. , ENOLSKI V. Z. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThe Atiyah–Drinfeld–Hitchin–Manin–Nahm (ADHMN) construction of magnetic monopoles is given in terms of the (normalizable) solutions of an associated Weyl equation. We focus here on solving this equation directly by algebro-geometric means. The (adjoint) Weyl equation is solved using an ansatz of Nahm in terms of Baker–Akhiezer functions. The solution of Nahm's equation is not directly used in our development.
BÄCKLUND TRANSFORMATIONS FOR NON-COMMUTATIVE ANTI-SELF-DUAL YANG–MILLS EQUATIONS
Authors: GILSON CLAIRE R. , HAMANAKA MASASHI , NIMMO JONATHAN J. C. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWe present Bäcklund transformations for the non-commutative anti-self-dual Yang–Mills equations where the gauge group isG=GL(2) and use it to generate a series of exact solutions from a simple seed solution. The solutions generated by this approach are represented in terms of quasi-determinants and belong to a non-commutative version of the Atiyah–Ward ansatz. In the commutative limit, our results coincide with those by Corrigan, Fairlie, Yates and Goddard.
Application of the law of diminishing returns to estimate maintenance requirement for amino acids and their efficiency of utilization for accretion in young chicks
Authors: DARMANI KUHI H. , KEBREAB E. , LOPEZ S. , FRANCE J. 
Published: February 2009

SUMMARYSuitability of the monomolecular equation, specifically re-parameterized for analysing energy balance data, has recently been investigated in broilers and turkeys. In the current study, this equation was applied to literature data from growing chicks fed crystalline amino acid (AA) diets, in order to provide estimates for AA requirements for maintenance, body-weight gain and protein accretion. Non-linear regression was used with the data to estimate parameters and combine them to determine other biological indicators. The predictive ability of the model was evaluated with reference to model behaviour when fitting the data, biologically meaningful parameter estimates and statistical performance. The model estimated the maintenance requirements for valine, threonine and lysine to be in the range 80–111, 96–109 and 52–209 mg/kg of liveweight/day, respectively, depending on the response criterion. Requirements for maintenance were in good agreement with values reported previously. Average efficiency of recovering AAs in whole body protein, between maintenance and four×maintenance, was in the reported range of 0·80–1·0 and greatest at low intakes and decreasing as intakes increase.
Estimates of relative yield potential and genetic improvement of wheat cultivars in the Mediterranean region
Authors: SENER O. , ARSLAN M. , SOYSAL Y. , ERAYMAN M. 
Published: February 2009

SUMMARYInformation about changes associated with advances in crop productivity is essential for understanding yield-limiting factors and developing new strategies for future breeding programmes. National bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yields in Turkey have risen by an average of 20·8 kg/ha/year from 1925 to 2006. Annual gain in yield attributable to agronomic and genetic improvement averaged c. 11·6 kg/ha/year prior to 1975, but is now averaging c. 15·1 kg/ha/year. In the Mediterranean region, however, the wheat yield trend line (10·9 kg/ha/year) is c. 0·38 lower than that of Turkey. In order to understand whether such a trend was due to the cultivars released over the years, 16 bread wheat cultivars, commonly grown in the region and representing 23 years of breeding, introduction and selection (from 1976 to 1999), were grown in a randomized complete block design with three replicates across 2 years. Data were collected on maturation time, plant height, spike length, spikelet number/spike, grain number/spike, grain weight/spike, 1000 seed weight, harvest index and grain yield. None of the measured plant traits showed any historical cultivar patterns; therefore, the increase in grain yield could not be attributed to a single yield component. Several physiological traits changed during two decades of cultivar releases in the Mediterranean region that led to a genetic gain in grain yield of about 0·5% per year. Years of data and the present field study in the Mediterranean region suggested that the genetic improvement in wheat seemed inadequate and should be reinforced with modern agricultural management practices as well as technological innovations.
Canal wall cholesteatoma following canalplasty
Authors: Martinez Del Pero M , Donnelly N , Antoun N , Axon P 
Published: February 2009

AbstractIntroduction:Bony canalplasty is a common otological procedure performed to widen a narrow ear canal. The aim of this report is to describe two unusual patients who presented with a canal wall cholesteatoma many years after bony canalplasty.Cases:Two patients, aged 28 and 52 years, are presented. Both underwent canalplasty, 14 and 17 years before re-presenting with cholesteatoma evident through posterior canal wall defects. Both patients underwent exploration of the mastoid cavities and cartilage reconstruction of the canal walls. There was no recurrence at 24 and three month follow-up examinations (variously), hearing was preserved in both cases, and the patients suffered no early complications.Conclusions:The most frequent long-term complication of canalplasty is re-stenosis of the external auditory canal. The importance of sealing any inadvertently opened mastoid air cells, in order to avoid the late complication reported, is emphasised.
Win the match and vote for me: the politicisation of Ghana's Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko football clubs
Authors: Fridy Kevin S. , Brobbey Victor 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTThere is a common perception in Ghana that Accra Hearts of Oak is the soccer club of the National Democratic Congress, and Kumasi Asante Kotoko that of the New Patriotic Party. In this paper we explore the roots of these perceptions by examining the social history of these two clubs specifically, and the Ghanaian soccer league system in general, with an eye for the actors, practices and events that injected political airs into purportedly ‘apolitical’ athletic competitions. With this social history clearly defining the popularly perceived ‘us’ versus ‘them’ of the Hearts/Kotoko rivalry, we analyse on the basis of a modest survey some of the assumptions these widely held stereotypes rely upon. We find that ethnicity and location matter both in terms of predicting one's affinity for a given soccer club and partisan inclinations. These factors do not, however, completely dispel the relationship between sports and politics as spurious. Though not conclusive, there is enough evidence collected in the survey to suggest that one's preferred club, even when controlling for ethnicity and location, does have an effect on one's partisan leanings, or perhaps vice versa. This finding highlights the independent role that often-understudied cultural politics can play.
To ‘midwife’ – and abort – a democracy: Mauritania's transition from military rule, 2005–2008
Authors: N'Diaye Boubacar 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTThe 3 August 2005 military coup was Mauritania's best opportunity to turn the page on decades of the deposed quasi-military regime's destructive politics. This article critically analyses relevant aspects of the transition that ensued in the context of the prevailing models of military withdrawal from politics in Africa. It also examines the challenges that Mauritania's short-lived Third Republic faced. It argues that the transition process did not escape the well-known African military junta leader's proclivity to manipulate transitions to fulfil suddenly awakened self-seeking political ambitions, in violation of solemn promises. While there was no old-fashioned ballot stuffing to decide electoral outcomes, Mauritania's junta leader and his lieutenants spared no effort to keep the military very much involved in politics, and to perpetuate a strong sense of entitlement to political power. Originally designed as an ingenious ‘delayed self-succession’ of sorts, in the end, another coup aborted Mauritania's democratisation process and threw its institutions in a tailspin. This only exacerbated the challenges that have saddled Mauritania's political system and society for decades – unhealthy civil-military relations, a dismal ‘human rights deficit’, terrorism, and a neo-patrimonial, disastrously mismanaged economy.
A Partition of Contingency? Public Discourse in Bengal, 1946–1947
Authors: ROY HAIMANTI 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThe historiography on the Partition of Bengal has tended to see it as a culmination of long-term trends of Hindu and Muslim communalism within the province. This essay offers a counter-narrative to the ‘inevitability’ of the Partition by focusing on Bengali public discourse in the months leading up to the Partition. The possibility of a division generated a large-scale debate amongst the educated in Bengal and they articulated their views by sending numerous letters to leading newspapers, district political and civic organizations and sometimes published pamphlets for local consumption. A critical examination of these public debates for and against Partition reveals the countdown to August 1947 as a period of multiple possibilities. Rather than being pre-determined, the stands for a separate or a United Bengal were contingent in nature. Understanding the genesis provides the starting point and the necessary corrective to evaluate India's path to post-colonial nationhood.
Trypanosoma caninum n. sp. (Protozoa: Kinetoplastida) isolated from intact skin of a domestic dog (Canis familiaris) captured in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Authors: MADEIRA M. F. , SOUSA M. A. , BARROS J. H. S. , FIGUEIREDO F. B. , FAGUNDES A. , SCHUBACH A. , DE PAULA C. C. , FAISSAL B. N. S. , FONSECA T. S. , THOMA H. K. , MARZOCHI M. C. A. 
Published: February 2009

SUMMARYAn unknown Trypanosoma species was isolated from an axenic culture of intact skin from a domestic dog captured in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was co-infected with Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. Giemsa-stained smears of cultures grown in different media revealed the presence of epimastigotes, trypomastigotes, spheromastigotes, transitional stages, and dividing forms (epimastigotes or spheromastigotes). The highest frequency of trypomastigotes was observed in RPMI (15·2%) and DMEM (9·2%) media containing 5% FCS, with a mean length of these forms of 43·0 and 36·0 μm, respectively. Molecular analysis by sequential application of PCR assays indicated that this trypanosome differs from Trypanosoma cruzi and T. rangeli when specific primers were applied. On the other hand, a PCR strategy targeted to the D7 domain of 24sα rDNA, using primers D75/D76, amplified products of about 250 bp in that isolate (stock A-27), different from the amplification products obtained with T. cruzi and T. rangeli. This organism differs from T. cruzi mainly by the size of its trypomastigote forms and kinetoplasts and the absence of infectivity for macrophages and triatomine bugs. It is also morphologically distinct from salivarian trypanosomes reported in Brazil. Isoenzyme analysis at 8 loci demonstrated a very peculiar banding pattern clearly distinct from those of T. rangeli and T. cruzi. We conclude that this isolate is a new Trypanosoma species. The name T. caninum is suggested.
Mobility analysis of complex joints by means of screw theory
Authors: Yu Jingjun , Dai Jian S. , Zhao Tieshi , Bi Shusheng , Zong Guanghua 
Published: February 2009

SUMMARYIn structural design of current complex mechanisms or robots like parallel kinematic machines (PKMs), surgical robots, and reconfigurable robots, there commonly exist some functional modules called complex joints (CJs). Each of them, consisting of several simple pairs and essentially a mechanism, plays the same and more important roles as simple joints in kinematics and dynamics. However, as the primarily important aspect in mechanism analysis, the type and mobility of these CJs are far from familiarity. Therefore, this paper aims at addressing the type and mobility of CJs. For this purpose, the concept and classification of CJs are first discussed, an effective method to analyze the mobility characteristics of these CJs is then developed based on the equivalent screw system. The advantage of this method is that it reveals mobility characteristics by using equivalent transformations of kinematic pair screw (KP-screw) and constraint screw (C-screw) systems. With this method, the mobility characteristics of some concrete CJs are obtained correspondingly.