bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Candidate Sex on Evaluations of Candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives*
Authors: Dolan Kathleen 
Published: February 2004

Objectives. To examine how voters and the general public evaluate women candidates by examining ideological and issue‐based evaluations of women candidates for the House of Representatives.Methods. Data are drawn from the National Election Study for all U.S. House elections from 1990 to 2000. OLS and logistic regression models examining the role of candidate sex in evaluations are tested.Results. When evaluating Democratic candidates, people see them as more liberal and utilize more female issues in their evaluations when the candidate is a woman. For Republican candidates, candidate sex is much less likely to be related to how people evaluate them.Conclusion. The central role of party in public evaluations of women candidates suggests that the impact of candidate sex on voters is more complex than previous works have suggested.
Stem cell plasticity: from transdifferentiation to macrophage fusion
Authors: Camargo F. D. , Chambers S. M. , Goodell M. A. 
Published: February 2004

Abstract.   The past 5 years have witnessed an explosion of interest in using adult‐derived stem cells for cell and gene therapy. This has been driven by a number of findings, in particular, the possibility that some adult stem cells can differentiate into non‐autologous cell types, and also the discovery of multipotential stem cells in adult bone marrow. These discoveries suggested a quasi‐alchemical nature of cells derived from adult organs, thus raising new and exciting therapeutic possibilities. Recent data, however, argue against the whole idea of stem cell ‘plasticity’, and bring into question the therapeutic strategies based upon this concept. Here, we will review the current state of knowledge in the field and discuss some of the clinical implications.
Pulmonary epithelial stem cells
Authors: Bishop A. E. 
Published: February 2004

Abstract.  Classically, the stem/progenitor cells of the pulmonary epithelium are considered to be the basal and mucous cells of the proximal airways, Clara cells in the bronchioles and type II pneumocytes in the alveoli. Recent data suggest that there is a variant of Clara cells, lying in pulmonary neuroendocrine bodies, that meets several stem cell criteria and that type II pneumocytes exist in at least two populations, one of which is more resistant to injury. However, a complete revision of our understanding of pulmonary stem cell biology is underway as a result of the discovery of pulmonary epithelium derived from blood‐borne cells. In addition, the existence in the lung of a ‘universal’ pluripotent cell has long been speculated upon and now some initial evidence has emerged with the identification of a spore‐like cell that can differentiatein vitroto bronchiolar tissue.
The role of emotional social support in the psychological adjustment of siblings of children with cancer
Authors: Barrera M. , Fleming C. F. , Khan F. S. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractBackground  Siblings of children with cancer are at risk for reduced emotional support. The role of emotional social support in the psychological adjustment of siblings of paediatric cancer patients was examined, in the context of age and gender.Methods  The sample consisted of two groups of siblings of children being treated for cancer: siblings referred for behaviour problems (n = 47) and a comparison group of non‐referred siblings (n = 25). Forty‐two were female, and 30 were male. The mean age was 10.31 years (SD = 2.71). Siblings completed measures of depression, anxiety, behaviour, and emotional social support. One parent of each sibling completed measures of sibling's behaviour and anxiety.Results  Siblings who reported more social support endorsed significantly fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fewer behaviour problems, and their parents reported less anxiety and fewer behaviour problems than siblings who reported lower social support. Parents of referred siblings reported significantly more behaviour problems than parents of non‐referred siblings. Referred adolescent females reported significantly higher depression scores and were perceived as more anxious than referred adolescent males and non‐referred adolescent females. Non‐referred younger siblings with high social support were perceived by their parents as having the fewest behaviour problems.Conclusions  High level of social support appears to play a protective role in psychological adjustment of siblings of paediatric cancer patients, with age and gender as modifying factors. Although not all siblings develop behaviour or emotional problems, it is critical to identify those who do in order to intervene accordingly.
Motor co‐ordination in a South Indian population of children
Authors: Hackett R. J. , Hackett L. , Bhakta P. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractAims  To examine the associations of motor co‐ordination in Kerala, South India.Methods  The Modified Oseretsky Test of motor co‐ordination was administered to 1155 representative children during a door‐to‐door survey of 8–12 year olds. Reading, vocabulary and visuospatial reasoning were measured, as were height and weight. Information on medical history, socio‐demographic background and behaviour was systematically collected.Results  Age was the major association of motor incoordination indicating the importance of maturation. Behaviour, vocabulary, visuospatial reasoning, material deprivation, perinatal complications, chronic physical symptoms and occupational status of the father were also independently associated with motor co‐ordination. Using sibling pairs, evidence of familial aggregation of motor co‐ordination was found.Abstract  An explanatory model based on an interaction between social and physical factors was discussed.
Achieving early surgery for undescended testes: quality improvement through a multifaceted approach to guideline implementation
Authors: Brown J. J. , Wacogne I. , Fleckney S. , Jones L. , Ni Bhrolchain C. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractBackground  Surgery for undescended testes is recommended before the age of 2 years. However, boys are still undergoing surgery for undescended testes at a much later age than recommended.Methods  An initial audit reviewed all orchidopexies performed at Northampton General Hospital between 1992 and 1994. This demonstrated that only 19% of boys had surgery by the age of 2 years, and the key reason for late surgery was late referral. Guidelines for referral of undescended testes were established in which referral to a surgeon was advised following the 8‐month child health surveillance check if undescended testis was suspected. This would enable surgery before the age of 2 years. Audit results were disseminated and we implemented a package of measures based on evidence based change management techniques. These included written advice to general practitioners (GPs), a parent information leaflet and an amended personal child health record advising timing of referral. A reminder to the GP to refer following the 8‐month check was generated using computer recall from the Child Health System records. Guideline implementation was monitored by annual audit and feedback.Results  The baseline audit for the years 1992–94 found a median age at surgery of 4 years. Implementation of the new policies in 1998 resulted in a reduction in median age at surgery to 2.0 years in the 12 months ending September 2001.Conclusions  While concern about the age at orchidopexy has been highlighted in many previous studies, this is the first to show that improvement in the age at orchidopexy can be achieved. Implementing locally agreed guidelines with written information to GPs and parents combined with computerized recall from Child Health System records achieved the target within 3 years. Similar systems could be implemented nationally at minimal cost.
What influences physiotherapy use by children with cerebral palsy?
Authors: Parkes J. , Hill N. , Dolk H. , Donnelly M. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractAim To investigate factors that influence the frequency of physiotherapy currently used by a population of children with moderate to severe cerebral palsy (CP).Methods A survey using a postal questionnaire was sent to 212 parents of children with moderate to severe CP. The families were identified from a geographically defined case register of children with CP in Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Cerebral Palsy Register). Eighty‐five per cent of parents responded. One‐third of parent responses regarding their child's use of physiotherapy were validated with their child's physiotherapist and the level of agreement was high.Results Ninety‐four per cent (169/180) of children received conventional physiotherapy from a statutory source during the school term. Of these, 61% (104/169) used ‘intense’ levels of physiotherapy (defined as at least twice a week). A higher proportion of intense users were children with severe CP compared with moderate CP (69% vs. 47%;P < 0.01); with moderate intellectual impairment (IQ ≤ 70 > 50) compared with severe (IQ ≤ 50) or no intellectual impairment (IQ > 70) (81% vs. 64% vs. 39% respectively;P < 0.01) and at schools for physical disability (PD) compared with severe learning disability (SLD) or mainstream (MS) schools (82% vs. 66% vs. none respectively;P < 0.001). After controlling for severity of motor impairment and the presence and severity of intellectual impairment, children with CP at MS schools used on average significantly less physiotherapy compared with children with similar levels of motor impairment at PD schools (P < 0.001).Conclusions Children with CP in MS schools use less physiotherapy compared with children with similar levels of disability in special schools. Organizing services around special schools may limit the degree to which children with CP and other disabilities are successfully integrated into MS education.
The potential of emergency department injury surveillance data: an illustration using descriptive analysis of data in 0–4 year olds from the Bath injury surveillance system
Authors: Brownscombe J. , Simpson N. , Lenton S. , Davis R. , Barby T. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractObjectives  To illustrate the potential of injury surveillance data from an emergency department surveillance system.Setting  Bath clinical area.Methods  Data for children (0–4 years old) resident in Bath city in UK were recoded and analysed.Results  There were a total of 3144 attendances and 2300 unintentional injuries – equivalent to an attendance rate of 131/1000. There were 91 thermal injuries and 162 poisoning/ingestions. Descriptive information is presented on the circumstances and consequences.Conclusion  The majority of unintentional injuries in 0–4 year olds occur in the home, which is a modifiable environment. Detailed information around the circumstances available from the Bath injury surveillance system allows better focus for prevention messages and priority setting.
Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC) applied to measure parent's perception of the habilitation process in Sweden
Authors: Bjerre I. M. , Larsson M. , Franzon A.‐M. , Nilsson M. S. , Strömberg G. , Westbom L. M. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractAim  To evaluate the instrument Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC) in a Swedish context.Methods  The MPOC consists of 56 questions in the five scales: enabling and partnership; providing general information; providing specific information about the child; co‐ordinated and comprehensive care; and respectful and supportive care. The questionnaire was translated into Swedish and distributed to 850 families, served by four habilitation centres. After two reminders, a response rate of 74.9% was obtained, and about 60% of the questionnaires qualified for further statistical analysis. Reliability, calculated as Cronbach's alpha, was high for four of the five scales and acceptable for the fifth (scale no. 3).Results  Significant differences were shown between centres as well as between age groups. These differences were reasonable as judged through background knowledge, indicating that the instrument was able to discriminate between actual differences in services. Commenting on the practical use of the questionaire, staff, as well as responding parents, found the questionnaire rather long and some parents reported difficulties in giving answers as specific as the questionnaire asked them to.Conclusion  The MPOC shows sufficient sensitivity to be used as an evaluation tool for services at a centre or program level, and can be recommended for research and practical use.
‘I was running away from death’– the pre‐flight experiences of unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the UK
Authors: Thomas S. , Thomas S. , Nafees B. , Bhugra D. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractObjective  To collect information about the pre‐flight experiences of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) in the UK to increase the understanding of support needed on arrival in the UK.Methods  Retrospective social services case file and legal statement review and semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with 100 UASC.Results  Nearly half of all UASC have experienced separation from or loss of parents and/or family members (47%), and a further 41% had personally experienced or witnessed violence. Sexual violence (such as rape) was reported by 24% of African girls. Many children reported complex journeys to the UK.Conclusions  UASC arrive in the UK with a variety of potentially traumatic experiences. Whilst research is starting to identify some of the experiences of UASC, further culturally appropriate research is needed to identify their health and social needs after arrival. Further research will help to identify the specific experiences of UASC, indicating where services should be improved to deal with their complex and diverse needs.
Comparing specialist early years provision for speech and language impaired children with mainstream nursery provision in the UK – an application of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS)
Authors: Law J. , Dockrell J. , Williams K. , Seeff B. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractBackground  This study examines the application of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) to specialist early years provision for children with developmental speech and language impairment. The scale, which has been used in the national Effective Provision of Pre‐school Education (EPPE) study in the UK comprises seven subscales describing the quality of provision along a continuum centred on the following areas: ‘space and furnishings’, ‘personal care routines’, ‘language reasoning’, ‘activities’, ‘interaction’, ‘program structure’, and ‘parents and staff’.Methods  The ECERS was applied to two nurseries funded by the UK charity I CAN by two researchers with inter‐rater‐reliability coefficients ranging from 0.91 to 0.96.Results  There were notable differences between the specialist early years provision and ‘average’ nursery provision in the UK. On 7/8 measures the early years centre scores are markedly higher than average pre‐school provisions. The standard of education and care for the pre‐school provisions included in the EPPE project ranged from below minimal (for the diversity subscale, ECERS‐E) to approaching good (for the space and furnishings subscale). In contrast, the early years centres were rated as between minimal to good on areas such as space and furnishings and good to excellent on all other areas.Conclusions  Clearly specialist services such as those described offer something different from the average. Given results which suggest the positive effects on the children's language abilities of such services it is quite possible that the distinctive characteristics of the nursery environment are responsible for the positive impact. There is a good case for extending the application of the ECERS as a way of helping those providing specialist services start to detect the active ingredients of the provision.
Are foster parents reliable informants of children's behaviour problems?
Authors: Tarren‐Sweeney M. J. , Hazell P. L. , Carr V. J. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractBackground  Clinicians and researchers primarily measure behavioural and emotional problems of children in foster care from carer‐report checklists. Yet the reliability of these reports is not adequately established. The present study examines one indicator of reliability for foster parent checklist reports: interrater agreement between foster parents and teachers.Methods  Estimates of interrater agreement of foster parent and teacher responses on the cross‐informant scales of the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and the Teacher Report Form (TRF) were obtained for 47 children in long‐term foster care, aged 5–11 years. The estimates included calculations of agreement for continuous measures of problem behaviour, as well as for categorical determinations of clinically significant behaviour.Results  Correlations of CBCL and TRF mean raw scores for the total problems (r = 0.71) and externalizing (r = 0.78) scales exceeded those described in prior studies of parent–teacher agreement, while correlation for internalizing scores (r = 0.23) was similar to that found previously. Teachers and foster parents demonstrated moderate to good agreement (kappa = 0.70–0.79) in identifying clinically significant total problems and externalizing problems, but poor agreement in identifying internalizing problems.Conclusions  Discrepancies between these and prior findings are discussed. For children in long‐term foster care, foster parents or teachers may be used as informants for total problems, externalizing problems, and social‐attention‐thought problems. The reliability of data on internalizing symptoms is less certain.
Sleep problems in children with an intellectual disability: parental perceptions of sleep problems, and views of treatment effectiveness
Authors: Robinson A. M. , Richdale A. L. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractBackground  Sleep problems are common in children with an intellectual disability (ID), often lasting for many years. Many parents do not perceive their child to have a sleep problem, do not believe treatment is possible and do not seek treatment. This paper examined prevalence and duration of sleep problems in children with an ID and considered parental perceptions of sleep problems and views towards treatment.Method  The paper reports on two studies (n = 149 and 243 respectively) of children between 3 and 18 years, with a range of disabilities. Parents in each study completed a questionnaire about their child's sleep problems, and the type and effectiveness of any treatment used to address their child's sleep problems.Results  Prevalence rates ranged between 25.5% and 36.2% for sleep problems with an average duration of between 6 and 9 years. Around half of parents had sought treatment for their child's sleep problem in Study 1, while 76% had done so in Study 2. Parental ratings regarding treatment effectiveness were higher in Study 1 than in Study 2. Contrary to expectations, behavioural treatment was not rated as significantly more effective than other treatments in either study.Conclusions  While sleep problems are common and chronic in children with an ID, parents may not recognize a sleep problem as present, often do not seek treatment for their child's sleep problems, and treatment advice and effectiveness is very variable. Thus, further research and parent and professional education regarding the identification and treatment of sleep problems in these children is required.
Severe traffic injuries to children, Trent, 1992–7: time trend analysis
Authors: Arai Lisa 
Published: February 2004

Objective  To examine trends in hospital admission rates and socio‐economic gradients for traffic injuries in children, 1992–97.Design and location  Analysis of hospital admission data, Trent, UK.Participants  Children aged 0–14 years admitted to hospital for pedal, pedestrian or other transport‐related injury.Results  Admission rates for severe injuries among cyclists and pedestrians significantly increased during the study period. In 1992–93, admission rates (per 100 000) for severe injuries among child cyclists were 22.5. By 1996–97, these had increased to 28.3. The rates for pedestrians were 9.2 and 11.3, respectively. Other transport‐related injuries decreased during the study period. Socio‐economic gradients in admission rates did not change significantly.Conclusions  Hospital admission rates for severe injuries to child cyclists and pedestrians increased in 1992–97, but not the rates for other transport‐related injuries.
Cerebral palsy and intrauterine growth in single births: European collaborative study
Authors: Reading Richard 
Published: February 2004

Background  Cerebral palsy seems to be more common in term babies whose birthweight is low for their gestational age at delivery, but past analyses have been hampered by small datasets and Z‐score calculation methods.Methods  We compared data from 10 European registers for 4503 singleton children with cerebral palsy born between 1976 and 1990 with the number of births in each study population. Weight and gestation of these children were compared with reference standards for the normal spread of gestation and weight‐for‐gestational age at birth.Findings  Babies of 32–42 weeks’ gestation with a birthweight for gestational age below the 10th percentile (using fetal growth standards) were 4–6 times more likely to have cerebral palsy than were children in a reference band between the 25th and 75th percentiles. In children with a weight above the 97th percentile, the increased risk was smaller (from 1.6 to 3.1), but still significant. Those with a birthweight about 1 SD above average always had the lowest risk of cerebral palsy. A similar pattern was seen in those with unilateral or bilateral spasticity, as in those with a dyskinetic or ataxic disability. In babies of less than 32 weeks’ gestation, the relation between weight and risk was less clear.Interpretation  The risk of cerebral palsy, like the risk of perinatal death, is lowest in babies who are of above average weight‐for‐gestation at birth, but risk rises when weight is well above normal as well as when it is well below normal. Whether deviant growth is the cause or a consequence of the disability remains to be determined.