bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is third party information true? Should blood donors be excluded because of it?
Authors: Paley O. J. 
Published: February 2005

Summary.  The Welsh Blood Service contacted and attempted to interview 40 donors about whom information from a third party had been received. This information would have excluded the donor from donation if it had been forthcoming from the donor. 57·5% of donors denied the information, but 25% of them accepted that the information was true and were removed from the register. 17·5% of donors did not respond and they were also removed from the register.Interviewing donors, about whom third party information has been received, enables those who have not divulged a risk factor or who do not wish to discuss a risk factor, to be removed from the donor panel. This increases the safety of the blood supply.
Social Welfare Functionals on Restricted Domains and in Economic Environments
Authors: BORDES GEORGES , HAMMOND PETER J. , LE BRETON MICHEL 
Published: February 2005

AbstractArrow's “impossibility” and similar classical theorems are usually proved for an unrestricted domain of preference profiles. Recent work extends Arrow's theorem to various restricted but “saturating” domains of privately oriented, continuous, (strictly) convex, and (strictly) monotone “economic preferences” for private and/or public goods. For strongly saturating domains of more general utility profiles, this paper provides similar extensions of Wilson's theorem and of the strong and weak “welfarism” results due to d'Aspremont and Gevers and to Roberts. Hence, for social welfare functionals with or without interpersonal comparisons of utility, most previous classification results in social choice theory apply equally to strongly saturating economic domains.
Stable Assignment of Public Facilities under Congestion
Authors: BOGOMOLNAIA ANNA , NICOLÒ ANTONIO 
Published: February 2005

AbstractWe study the problem of locating multiple public facilities when each member of society has to be assigned to exactly one of these facilities. Individuals' preferences are assumed to be single‐peaked over the interval of possible locations and negatively affected by congestion. We characterize strategy‐proof, efficient, and stable allocation rules when agents have to be partitioned between two groups of users and discuss the normative content of the stability property. Finally we prove that when more than two groups have to be formed, even with common information on the distribution of the peaks, there is no strategy‐proof, efficient, and stable allocation rule.
Bunching, Time Constraints, and Workfare
Authors: BRETT CRAIG 
Published: February 2005

AbstractThis paper explores the use of workfare as part of the optimal tax mix. When agents have preferences that are quasilinear in leisure, unproductive workfare is optimal only if an optimal nonlinear tax scheme in the absence of workfare would feature distortions at the bottom of the wage distribution. These distortions can arise from two sources: binding constraints on the maximum available time, and bunching. An example is presented to illustrate the computation of an optimal schedule with work requirements.
Poverty‐Reducing Tax Reforms with Heterogeneous Agents
Authors: DUCLOS JEAN‐YVES , MAKDISSI PAUL , WODON QUENTIN 
Published: February 2005

AbstractThe poverty impact of indirect tax reforms is analyzed using sequential stochastic dominance methods. This allows agents to differ in dimensions that cannot always be precisely captured within the usual money‐metric indicators of living standards. Examples of such dimensions include household size and composition, temporal or spatial variation in price indices, and individual needs and “merits.”
Committee report: Guidelines for human startle eyeblink electromyographic studies
Authors: Blumenthal Terry D. , Cuthbert Bruce N. , Filion Diane L. , Hackley Steven , Lipp Ottmar V. , Van Boxtel Anton 
Published: February 2005

AbstractThe human startle response is a sensitive, noninvasive measure of central nervous system activity that is currently used in a wide variety of research and clinical settings. In this article, we raise methodological issues and present recommendations for optimal methods of startle blink electromyographic (EMG) response elicitation, recording, quantification, and reporting. It is hoped that this report will foster more methodological validity and reliability in research using the startle response, as well as increase the detail with which relevant methodology is reported in publications using this measure.
Safety and efficacy of using the LigaSure vessel sealing system for securing the pedicles in vaginal hysterectomy: randomised controlled trial
Authors: Hefni M.A. , Bhaumik J. , El‐Toukhy T. , Kho P. , Wong I. , Abdel‐Razik T. , Davies A.E. 
Published: February 2005

Objective  To assess the safety and efficacy of using the LigaSure vessel sealing system for securing the pedicles during vaginal hysterectomy in comparison with the conventional method of securing the pedicles by suture ligation.Design  Randomised controlled trial.Setting  Gynaecology Department, Benenden Hospital, Kent.Population  One hundred and sixteen women undergoing vaginal hysterectomy were prospectively randomised to either LigaSure (Group I) or suture ligation (Group II) for securing the pedicles.Methods  Data of patients were collected prospectively. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann–Whitney U test, χ2 and Fisher's exact test as appropriate.Main outcome measures  Operating time, operative blood loss and peri‐operative complications.Results  The operating time was significantly shorter in the LigaSure group compared with the control group (P < 0.04). There was no statistical significant difference between the two groups in operative blood loss (P= 0.433), but peri‐operative haemorrhagic complications were less frequent in the LigaSure group (0%vs 6.8%, P= 0.057). Four patients in the control group required either conversion to laparotomy because of bleeding, return to theatre for immediate post‐operative haemorrhage or readmission for vault haematoma, whereas none in the LigaSure group had bleeding from unsecured pedicles.Conclusion  The LigaSure vessel sealing system is a safe alternative for securing pedicles in vaginal hysterectomy when compared with conventional suture ligation. Larger studies are required to determine its place in gynaecological surgery.
Social and environmental conditions across the life course and age at menopause in a British birth cohort study
Authors: Hardy Rebecca , Kuh Diana 
Published: February 2005

Objective To assess whether socio‐economic status, environmental stress and hardship throughout the life course are associated with age at menopause.Design Birth cohort study.Setting England, Scotland, Wales.Sample A total of 1515 women from a stratified sample of all births in one week in 1946.Methods Age at menopause was collected using annual postal questionnaires from age 47 to 53 years. Information on socio‐economic conditions and hardship were collected at contacts throughout life from age 2 to 43 years. Socio‐economic indicator variables were defined to represent cumulative exposure to hardship in childhood and in adulthood.Main outcome measures Age at menopause.Results Cox's proportional hazard models indicated that women whose fathers were in a manual social class occupation at three time points during her childhood had an earlier age at menopause than those whose fathers were in non‐manual occupations at all three (HR: 1.51; 95% CI: 0.93–2.47). Similar findings were seen for household crowding. These socio‐economic gradients could not be explained by adult socio‐economic status, behaviour and lifestyle or by psychological health and stress, but were attenuated by other early life factors. Women who experienced parental divorce early in life (before five years of age) had double the rate of menopause of those whose parents did not divorce (HR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.33–3.42). There were no consistent findings with adult socio‐economic indicators.Conclusions There is some evidence of a cumulative effect of socio‐economic circumstances in childhood, but not in adulthood, on age at menopause. Childhood nutrition, cognition and emotional stress possibly underlie the social gradient.
Proteinuria in pre‐eclampsia: how much matters?
Authors: Chan Patricia , Brown Mark , Simpson Judy M. , Davis Gregory 
Published: February 2005

Objective  To determine, in women with proteinuric pre‐eclampsia, whether a discriminant value of proteinuria at the time of diagnosis predicts the presence or absence of subsequent adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.Design  Retrospective cohort study.Setting  One teaching hospital and two primary referral hospitals in Sydney, Australia.Sample  Three hundred and twenty‐one pregnant women with proteinuric pre‐eclampsia, managed according to a uniform management protocol.Methods  All women with the diagnosis of proteinuric pre‐eclampsia in the years 1998–2001 were studied. After exclusion of women with pre‐eclampsia superimposed on pre‐existing hypertension, a twin pair, unavailable spot urine results, 353 women were analysed using logistic regression to determine separately the predictors of any adverse maternal or fetal outcomes at the time of delivery. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, sensitivity and specificity were then calculated from the data.Main outcome measures  Adverse maternal outcomes: severe maternal hypertension (BP ≥ 170/110 mmHg), renal insufficiency, liver disease, cerebral irritation, haematological disturbances. Adverse fetal outcomes: small for gestational age, perinatal mortality.Results  There were 108 (34%) adverse maternal outcomes and 60 (19%) adverse fetal outcomes including two stillbirths. In multivariate analysis, an adverse maternal outcome was significantly associated with higher spot urine protein/creatinine ratio at diagnosis (P < 0.0001) with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.003 per mg/mmol (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.002–1.004) and with older maternal age (P= 0.014) with OR 1.06 per year (95% CI 1.01–1.11). An increased risk of adverse fetal outcome was associated with higher spot urine protein/creatinine (P= 0.013; OR 1.44 per log [mg/mmol], 95% CI 1.08–1.92), gestation at diagnosis <34 weeks (P < 0.0001; OR 3.60, 95% CI 1.90–6.82) and early pregnancy systolic blood pressure ≤115 mmHg (P= 0.0002; OR 3.41, 95% CI 1.77–6.57). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.67 for adverse maternal outcomes and 0.72 for adverse fetal outcomes.Conclusions  With increasing proteinuria, there is increased risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Although we did not identify a specific spot protein/creatinine ratio that could be used as a definitive screening value for adverse outcomes, it is possible to utilise data from this study to predict the likelihood of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. A high spot urine protein/creatinine ratio in pre‐eclamptic women of greater than 900 mg/mmol (∼9 g/day), or greater than 500 mg/mmol (∼5 g/day) in women over 35 years, is associated with a greatly increased likelihood of adverse maternal outcomes.
Cardiovascular death in women who had hypertension in pregnancy: a case–control study
Authors: Arnadottir Gerdur A. , Geirsson Reynir T. , Arngrimsson Reynir , Jonsdottir Lilja S. , Olafsson Örn 
Published: February 2005

Objective  To determine whether an association exists between hypertension in pregnancy and later development of cardiovascular disease.Design  Case–control study of women who delivered with and without hypertensive complications during the same period.Setting  University Hospital in Reykjavik, Iceland.Population  Three hundred and twenty‐five women with hypertension in pregnancy (blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg after 20 weeks of gestation) in the years 1931–1947, graded by severity. For each case, two normotensive control women, delivering before or after the case and matched for parity and age were selected, giving a total of 629 women.Methods  Causes of death were evaluated for the presence of ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular events and cancer, up until the end of 1996.Main outcome measures  Survival curves, median survival times, risk of death by age group and severity of disease.Results  Death with evidence of ischaemic heart disease was more common in cases (24.3%) than in control women (14.6%) (RR 1.66; 95% CI 1.27–2.17). Cerebrovascular event deaths occurred in 9.5% of cases and in 6.5% of controls (RR 1.46; 95% CI 0.94–2.28). Cancer death rates were not different (RR 1.22; 95% CI 0.91–1.63). Survival times were shorter on average by three to nine years as a consequence of cardiovascular disease. This varied by age group in the index pregnancy for women with a history of hypertension in pregnancy. The effect was smaller if the case pregnancy occurred at a young age. There was a linear trend with increasing severity of hypertensive disease in pregnancy in death rates from ischaemic heart disease (χ21= 5.8, P= 0.02).Conclusions  Long term follow up suggests an increased risk of death from ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular events among women who suffered hypertension in pregnancy.
Outcome of fertility‐preserving treatment in young women with endometrial carcinomas
Authors: Niwa K. , Tagami K. , Lian Z. , Onogi K. , Mori H. , Tamaya T. 
Published: February 2005

Objective  To evaluate the outcome of conservative treatment of young women with endometrial cancer.Design  Observational study.Setting  Gifu University Hospital, Japan from 1988 to 2002.Population  Twelve women with endometrial cancer, FIGO IA estimated by MRI under 35 years.Methods  Patients were treated with medroxyprogestreone acetate (400–600 mg/day) for 6–10 months, with endometrial curettage performed every four weeks.Main outcome measures  Response to therapy, pregnancies and reoccurrence of disease during follow up over a 30‐month period.Results  All cases had pathological complete remissions within 6–10 months. Seven of 10 wishing to have babies conceived, and five of them were delivered of full‐term babies. Eight of nine cases receiving long term follow up (over 30 months) developed recurrent disease, with four opting for hysterectomy. No patient developed distant metastases or had disease‐related death.Conclusion  Conservative therapy is feasible in carefully selected young women with endometrial cancer. Recurrence rates were high during long term observation even after pathological complete remissions. Therefore, close follow up is recommended.
Obstetric anal sphincter injury ten years after: subjective and objective long term effects
Authors: Fornell Eva Uustal , Matthiesen Leif , Sjödahl Rune , Berg Göran 
Published: February 2005

Objective  To establish the long term effects of obstetric anal sphincter rupture.Design  Prospective observational study.Setting  University hospital in Sweden.Population  Eighty‐two women from a prospective study from 1990 to compare anorectal function after third degree tear.Methods  Women completed a structured questionnaire, underwent a clinical examination and anorectal manometry, endoanal ultrasound (EAUSG) with perineal body measurement.Main outcome measures  Symptoms of anal incontinence, sexual symptoms, anal manometry scores and evidence of sphincter damage on EAUSG.Results  Five women had undergone secondary repair and three were lost to follow up. Fifty‐one women (80%) completed the questionnaire. Twenty‐six out of 46 (57%) of the original study group and 6/28 (20%) of the original controls were examined. Incontinence to flatus and liquid stool was more severe in the study group than in controls. Flatus incontinence was significantly more pronounced among women with subsequent vaginal deliveries. Mean maximal anal squeeze pressures were 69 mmHg in the partial rupture group and 42 mmHg in the complete rupture group (P= 0.04). Study group women with signs of internal sphincter injury reported more pronounced faecal incontinence and had lower anal resting pressures (24 mmHg) than those with intact internal sphincters (40 mmHg) (P= 0.01). Perineal body thickness of less than 10 mm was associated with incontinence for flatus and liquid stools, less lubrication during sex and lower anal squeeze pressures (58 mmHg vs 89 mmHg, P= 0.04).Conclusions  Subjective and objective anal function after anal sphincter injury deteriorates further over time and with subsequent vaginal deliveries. Thin perineal body and internal sphincter injury seem to be important for continence and anal pressure.
Pregnancy following uterine artery embolisation for symptomatic fibroids: a series of 26 completed pregnancies
Authors: Carpenter T.T. , Walker W.J. 
Published: February 2005

Objectives  To evaluate the outcome of pregnancies after uterine artery embolisation for uterine fibroids.Design  Retrospective analysis of pregnancy subsequent to uterine artery embolisation by one interventional radiologist.Setting  A UK District General Hospital.Population  Twenty‐nine pregnancies in 671 women who had undergone uterine artery embolisation.Methods  Cases were identified by screening questionnaire and from the study database. Detailed information was collected by questionnaires, direct conversations with women and, when necessary, from hospital records.Main outcome measures  Pregnancy outcome, complications and neonatal outcomes.Results  Of 26 completed pregnancies, detailed information was available for 24 and limited information for 2. Seven (27%) ended in miscarriage, there were two terminations and one ectopic pregnancy. Of 16 deliveries after 24 weeks, first and second trimester bleeding occurred in 40% and 33%, respectively, 4 (25%) had preterm deliveries and the caesarean section rate was 88%. Two (13%) women developed proteinuric hypertension and two others had preterm spontaneous rupture of the membranes. Fourteen of 16 cases were delivered by caesarean section. The rate of primary postpartum haemorrhage was 3/15 (20%). The mean birthweight of term babies was 3.39 kg (SD 0.64) and none required admission to neonatal intensive care. There was one (6.7%) case of fetal growth restriction.Conclusion  Although this study is relatively small, there is an increase in delivery by caesarean section. There does not appear to be any other major excess obstetric associated risk when the demographics of the population in question is considered.
Fetal fibronectin test predicts delivery before 30 weeks of gestation in high risk women, but increases anxiety
Authors: Shennan Andrew , Jones Griff , Hawken Jennifer , Crawshaw Sarah , Judah Jeanette , Senior Victoria , Marteau Theresa , Chinn Susan , Poston Lucilla 
Published: February 2005

Objective  To assess efficacy of cervico‐vaginal fetal fibronectin as a predictor of spontaneous preterm birth in a high risk antenatal population, and to evaluate the psychological impact of fetal fibronectin testing.Design  An observational study.Setting  The antenatal clinic at a tertiary referral hospital.Population  One hundred and forty‐six pregnant women with known risk factors for spontaneous preterm birth.Methods  Women designated as ‘at risk’ for preterm delivery by clinical history were screened for fetal fibronectin at 24 and again at 27 weeks of gestation. Anxiety levels were assessed by questionnaire and compared with anxiety levels of 206 low risk women also tested for fetal fibronectin. Fetal fibronectin results were disclosed to the woman and her clinician.Main outcome measures  Maternal anxiety and efficacy of the 24‐week fetal fibronectin test to predict delivery before 30, 34 and 37 weeks of gestation.Results  Maternal anxiety was higher pretesting in those at high risk compared with low risk women undergoing the test. Among the high risk women, anxiety was raised to clinically significant levels in those receiving a positive fetal fibronectin screening test result. In all women, 5%, 9% and 21% delivered <30, <34 or <37 weeks of gestation, respectively. Nine percent (n= 13) tested positive for fetal fibronectin at 24 weeks. Predictive power for fetal fibronectin (24 weeks) was greatest for delivery <30 weeks of gestation, with a likelihood ratio of 15 for a positive test (6/13 positive women delivered before 30 weeks).Conclusions  Fetal fibronectin was most efficient as a predictor of preterm spontaneous delivery <30 weeks of gestation, but was associated with high levels of anxiety.
The impact of age on the epidemiology of incomplete abortions in South Africa after legislative change
Authors: Jewkes Rachel , Rees Helen , Dickson Kim , Brown Heather , Levin Jonathan 
Published: February 2005

Objective  In 1996 termination of pregnancy was legalised in South Africa. This article examines the impact of age on the epidemiology of incomplete abortion after legislative change. It draws comparison with the findings of a similar study undertaken in 1994.Design  Multicentre, prospective, descriptive study.Setting  Forty‐seven public hospitals in all nine provinces.Sample  A stratified random sample of all hospitals treating gynaecological emergencies was drawn. All women of gestation under 22 weeks who presented with incomplete abortion during three weeks of data collection in 2000 were included.Methods  A data capture sheet completed by a clinician from the case notes.Main outcome measures  Demographic characteristics and clinical findings on admission by age of women.Results  Overall, there was a significant increase in the proportion of cases with no signs of infection on admission (from 79.5% to 90.1%) and a significant decrease in evidence of interference on evacuation (4.5% to 0.6%) between 1994 and 2000. Substantial age differentials were seen. Women over 30 were significantly less likely than those 21–30 years or under 21 to be low severity (65.5%vs 75.2%vs 76.4%, P= 0.0087) and more likely to have offensive products (16.3%vs 6.0%vs 6.4%, P= 0.01) than the younger women.Conclusions  Legalisation of abortion had an immediate positive impact on morbidity, especially in younger women. This is an important change as teenagers had the highest morbidity in 1994. The trend is supported by evidence from the 1999–2001 Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths, which further suggested that abortion mortality dropped by more than 90% since 1994.
Association of raised titres of antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae with a history of pre‐eclampsia
Authors: Goulis Dimitrios G. , Chappell Lucy , Gibbs Richard G.J. , Williams David , Dave Jitendra R. , Taylor Paul , De Swiet Michael , Poston Lucilla , Williamson Catherine 
Published: February 2005

Objective  To establish the prevalence of Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) infection in a pregnant UK population and to investigate whether C. pneumoniae infection is more common in women with a previous history of pre‐eclampsia.Design  Prospective study.Setting  Academic Hospital.Population  Ninety‐one pregnant women (54 parous and 37 nulliparous) at 16–22 weeks of gestation were studied. Of the parous women, 32 had a previous history of pre‐eclampsia.Methods  Peripheral blood was drawn for C. pneumoniae antibodies between 16–22 and 28–40 weeks of gestation. C. pneumoniae antibodies were measured using a solid‐phase enzyme immunoassay. According to pregnancy outcome, women were categorised into normal, gestational hypertension and pre‐eclampsia groups.Main outcome measures  Serum levels of IgG, IgA and IgM C. pneumoniae antibodies.Results  Prevalence of seropositivity to C. pneumoniae was 77%. Parous women had significantly higher levels of IgA and IgM C. pneumoniae antibodies than nulliparous women (P < 0.04). Parous women with previous pre‐eclampsia were found to have higher levels of antibodies than parous women with a normal obstetric history (P≤ 0.003). There was no difference in the antibody levels in women with different pregnancy outcomes.Conclusions  The longitudinal data do not indicate an association between C. pneumoniae infection and pre‐eclampsia. However, the subgroup analysis of parous women demonstrated raised C. pneumoniae antibodies in the women with previous pre‐eclampsia, and therefore suggests that there may be an association between C. pneumoniae and the disease in this group.