bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Anatomical and chemical defenses of conifer bark against bark beetles and other pests
Authors: Franceschi Vincent R. , Krokene Paal , Christiansen Erik , Krekling Trygve 
Published: July 2005

SummaryConifers are long‐lived organisms, and part of their success is due to their potent defense mechanisms. This review focuses on bark defenses, a front line against organisms trying to reach the nutrient‐rich phloem. A major breach of the bark can lead to tree death, as evidenced by the millions of trees killed every year by specialized bark‐invading insects. Different defense strategies have arisen in conifer lineages, but the general strategy is one of overlapping constitutive mechanical and chemical defenses overlaid with the capacity to up‐regulate additional defenses. The defense strategy incorporates a graded response from ‘repel’, through ‘defend’ and ‘kill’, to ‘compartmentalize’, depending upon the advance of the invading organism. Using a combination of toxic and polymer chemistry, anatomical structures and their placement, and inducible defenses, conifers have evolved bark defense mechanisms that work against a variety of pests. However, these can be overcome by strategies including aggregation pheromones of bark beetles and introduction of virulent phytopathogens. The defense structures and chemicals in conifer bark are reviewed and questions about their coevolution with bark beetles are discussed.ContentsSummary353I.Introduction354II.Integrating defense strategies354III.Constitutive defense systems: first tier of defense356IV.Inducible defense systems: second tier of defense363V.Genetics and physiology of bark defense365VI.Bark beetles: diminutive but deadly367VII.The arms race: coevolution of conifer defense and bark beetle strategies367VIII.Bark‐beetle‐vectored blue‐stain fungi: multiple attacks against multiple defenses369IX.Conclusions370Acknowledgements371References371
Domestic violence, lifetime trauma and psychological health of childbearing women
Authors: Mezey Gillian , Bacchus Loraine , Bewley Susan , White Sarah 
Published: July 2005

Objective  Although histories of abuse are associated with psychiatric illness in women, health professionals rarely enquire directly about such experiences. This study examined the association between physical and sexual violence and lifetime trauma and depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms in women receiving maternity care.Design  Cross sectional study.Setting  South London Hospital maternity services.Population  Two hundred women receiving postnatal or antenatal care.Methods  Two hundred women receiving postnatal or antenatal care at a South London maternity service were screened for lifetime experiences of trauma and domestic violence. Information was obtained about self‐harming behaviour, suicidal thoughts and attempts and psychiatric history. Women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PTDS).Main outcome measures  Results  One hundred and twenty‐one (60.5%) women reported at least one traumatic event and two‐thirds of these had experienced multiple traumatic events. The most frequent (34%) was witnessing or experiencing physical assault by a family member. Forty‐seven (23.5%) women had experienced domestic violence. Physical and sexual abuse commonly co‐occurred. Thirteen (10.7%) women with a trauma history had current posttraumatic stress disorder. Severe posttraumatic symptoms were associated with physical and sexual abuse histories and repeat victimisation. Adult and childhood physical and sexual abuse histories were also associated with more severe depressive symptomatology. Significant social factors associated with depression were being single, separated or in a non‐cohabiting relationship.Conclusion  Traumatic events are under‐recognised risk factors in the development of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms in childbearing women. Childhood abuse creates a vulnerability to re‐traumatisation in adulthood. Awareness of the impact of trauma and abuse on psychological health may enable more appropriate targeting of clinical services and support for women receiving maternity care.
Gender differences of placental dysfunction in severe prematurity
Authors: Ghidini Alessandro , Salafia Carolyn M. 
Published: July 2005

Objective  Rates of several obstetric complications have been reported to vary with fetal gender. We investigated whether a sex difference exists in findings at placental histology of extreme prematurity.Design  Case–control study.Setting  University Hospital.Population  Four hundred and thirty‐seven consecutive deliveries before 32 weeks of gestation of singleton, liveborn, non‐anomalous infants.Methods  Obstetric, neonatal and placental histologic findings were compared between male (n= 232) and female (n= 205) neonates.Main outcome measures  Histologic evidence of acute placental inflammation, uteroplacental vascular pathology, intraplacental vascular pathology and chronic placental inflammation.Results  Male fetuses had similar racial distributions, rate of nulliparity, maternal age, gestational age at delivery, placental weight and fetoplacental weight ratio as female fetuses, but higher birthweight centiles (41 [27] vs 33 [26]). Placental histology showed no association between fetal gender and lesions of acute inflammation (P= 0.08), intraplacental vascular pathology (P= 0.16) or uteroplacental vascular pathology (P= 0.83). However, lesions of chronic inflammation had a significantly higher score in male than in female fetuses (P= 0.001). When we examined the distribution of chronic placental inflammation, significantly more severe lesions were noted in male than in female fetuses at the implantation site (i.e. the area of interstitial trophoblast invasion of the maternal decidua and maternal endovascular trophoblast remodelling), than within the placental villi (chronic villitis) or in the amniochorionic membranes (where interstitial trophoblast invasion is minimal).Conclusion  In premature deliveries at <32 weeks, male fetal gender is associated with placental lesions suggestive of a maternal immune response against the invading interstitial trophoblast. The immunologic basis of these findings deserves further studies.
The effect of tibolone in postmenopausal women receiving tamoxifen after surgery for breast cancer: a randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial
Authors: Kroiss R. , Fentiman I.S. , Helmond F.A. , Rymer J. , Foidart J.M. , Bundred N. , Mol‐Arts M. , Kubista E. 
Published: July 2005

Objective To assess the effects of tibolone on climacteric symptoms, endometrium and serum lipid/lipoproteins in postmenopausal women receiving tamoxifen after surgery for breast cancer.Design Double‐blind, randomised, placebo‐controlled, multicentre pilot study.Setting Hospital outpatient clinic.Sample Seventy postmenopausal women receiving tamoxifen following surgery for early breast cancer.Methods Women received 20 mg/day oral tamoxifen plus either 2.5 mg/day oral tibolone or placebo for 12 months.Main outcome measures Frequency and severity of hot flushes (diary cards); intensity of hot flushes and sweats (Landgren scale); interference of hot flushes and sweats with normal life; frequency and intensity of other climacteric symptoms; endometrial thickness and histology; vaginal bleeding; breast cancer recurrence and serum lipid/lipoproteins.Results Daily card data showed no change in the daily number of hot flushes with either tibolone or placebo (P= 0.219) after three months. There was a significant reduction in the severity of flushes with tibolone compared with placebo (−0.4vs0.2,P= 0.031). The Landgren scale showed a mean change in the number of hot flushes of −0.6 with tibolone and +1.1 with placebo after 12 months (P= 0.022). Endometrial biopsies were normal and vaginal bleeding was similar in both groups. A significant decrease in triglycerides (−23%vs1.4%) and HDL (−12%vs19%) was seen with tibolone compared with placebo after 12 months.Conclusions Tibolone prevented an increase in hot flushes in postmenopausal women given tamoxifen following surgery for breast cancer without untoward effects on the endometrium. Beneficial effects on serum lipid profile were noted.
Physical symptoms after childbirth: prevalence and associations with self‐rated health
Authors: Schytt Erica , Lindmark Gunilla , Waldenström Ulla 
Published: July 2005

Objective  The aims of the present study were to describe the prevalence of a number of physical symptoms, as described by women themselves, two months and one year after childbirth in a national Swedish sample and to investigate the association between specific symptoms and women's self‐rated health.Design  Cohort study.Setting  Swedish antenatal clinics.Population  A total of 2413 women recruited from 593 antenatal clinics in Sweden during three one‐week periods evenly spread over one year (1999–2000), representing 54% of women eligible for the study and 76% of those who consented to participate. The representativity of the sample was assessed by comparison with the total Swedish birth cohort of 1999.Methods  Data were collected by means of questionnaires in early pregnancy, two months and one year after the birth and from the Swedish Medical Birth Register.Main outcome measures  Self‐reported symptoms and self‐rated health.Results  Tiredness, headache, neck, shoulder and low back pain were common problems at two months as well as one year after childbirth. At two months, pain from caesarean section, dyspareunia and haemorrhoids were frequent problems, whereas stress incontinence was often reported at one year. Ninety‐one percent of the women said self‐rated health was ‘very good’ or ‘good’ at two months after birth, and 86% at one year. Low self‐rated health was associated with symptoms that affected general physical functioning and wellbeing, such as tiredness, headache, musculoskeletal problems, mastitis, perineal pain, dysuria, stomachache and nausea. Complaints related to more specific situations, such as dyspareunia, constipation and stress incontinence were not associated with self‐rated health.Conclusion  Despite the fact that physical symptoms were common two months and one year after the birth, the vast majority of women rated their health as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
Cardiovascular and endocrine effects of a single course of maternal dexamethasone treatment in preterm fetal sheep
Authors: Quaedackers Josine S. , Roelfsema Vincent , Fraser Mhoyra , Gunn Alistair J. , Bennet Laura 
Published: July 2005

Objective  To determine the effects of a single course of maternally administered dexamethasone on preterm fetal sheep in utero.Design  Prospective randomised controlled trial.Setting  University laboratory.Sample  Pregnant sheep at 0.7 of gestation.Methods  Pregnant ewes at 103 days of pregnancy (term = 147 days) were given two intramuscular injections of vehicle (n= 7) or 12 mg of dexamethasone (DEX; n= 8) 24 hours apart. Fetuses were continuously monitored for five days.Main outcome measures  Fetal mean arterial blood pressure, carotid and femoral arterial blood flow and vascular resistance, heart rate, heart rate variability, fetal plasma cortisol and ACTH and fetal body movements.Results  DEX injections led to an acute increase in mean arterial blood pressure with a rise in carotid and femoral vascular resistance, a fall in femoral arterial blood flow, and a brief fall in fetal heart rate followed by significant tachycardia. From 24 hours after the injections, mean arterial blood pressure and vascular resistance returned to control values, however, a mild tachycardia [200 (3) vs 184 (4) bpm, P < 0.05] and loss of the circadian pattern of fetal heart rate variability persisted until the end of recording. Plasma ACTH and cortisol were markedly suppressed by DEX (P < 0.05), with values returning to control levels 32 and 72 hours after the first injection, respectively. There was no effect on basal fetal heart rate variability, body movements, carotid arterial blood flow, or the circadian pattern of fetal heart rate.Conclusion  In contrast to previous experiments utilising direct fetal infusion of steroids, maternal administration of DEX was associated with only transient hypertension.
Comparison of digital and ultrasonographic examination of the cervix in predicting time interval from induction to delivery in women with a low Bishop score
Authors: Rozenberg Patrick , Chevret Sylvie , Chastang Claude , Ville Yves 
Published: July 2005

Objective  To compare pre‐induction ultrasonographic cervical length and Bishop score in predicting time to delivery after labour induction with prostaglandins.Design  Prognostic cohort study.Setting  Tertiary referral maternity unit in a teaching hospital.Population  Two hundred and sixty‐six women with singleton pregnancies at between 34+0 and 41+3 weeks of gestation requiring induction of labour with prostaglandins for medical indications.Methods  A secondary analysis of a trial comparing two prostaglandins. Assessment of the Bishop score and measurement of the cervical length by transvaginal sonography were performed by two operators, blinded to each other's results. We estimated the predictive effects on the outcomes of ultrasonographic cervical length and Bishop score.Main outcome measure  Time intervals from induction to delivery and to vaginal delivery.Results  Cervical length and Bishop score were associated with the time interval from induction to delivery, based on univariable analyses. When considered jointly in a multivariable model, only the Bishop score was significantly related to the outcome: The higher the Bishop score, the higher the hazard to delivery [hazard ratio (HR): 1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1–1.3], illustrating that once the Bishop score is taken into account, further knowledge of cervical ultrasound length (HR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.98–1.0) did not add any predictive information. Also, Bishop score was predictive of time interval between induction and vaginal delivery (HR: 1.2, 95% CI: 1.1–1.4) while cervical length had no additional predictive value (HR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.98–1.0) when both cervical length and Bishop score were introduced in the model.Conclusions  The Bishop score appears to be a better predictor of the time interval from induction to delivery and to vaginal delivery than cervical length after induction of labour for medical reasons.
Palaeozoic tropical rainforests and their effect on global climates: is the past the key to the present?
Authors: CLEAL CHRISTOPHER J. , THOMAS BARRY A. 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACTWetland forests, known as coal forests, extended over large areas of the palaeotropics during the Late Carboniferous and the Permian Periods. They were initiated during the Serpukhovian Age as a response to lowering sea levels having exposed large areas of continental shelf. They expanded dramatically during the late Bashkirian Age, but then contracted by over one‐half during the Kasimovian Age. The estimated loss of carbon sink probably resulted in an annual increase in atmospheric CO2 of about 2–5 ppm, and coincided with clear evidence of global warming in both the northern and southern high latitudes. A return to cooler conditions in very Early Permian times coincided with an expansion of the palaeotropical coal forests in the Far East, but this was short‐lived and most of the rest of the Permian was a time of global warming. The Palaeozoic evidence clearly confirms that there is a correlation between levels of atmospheric CO2 and global climates. However, care must be taken in extrapolating this evidence to the present‐day tropical forests, which do not act as a comparable unsaturated carbon sink.
Three‐dimensional Raman imagery of precambrian microscopic organisms
Authors: SCHOPF J. W. , KUDRYAVTSEV A. B. 
Published: July 2005

ABSTRACTTwo major difficulties have long hindered studies of ancient permineralized micro‐organisms: (1) accurate documentation of their three‐dimensional morphology at micron‐scale resolution; and (2) direct characterization of their molecular‐structural composition. Here we introduce a technique new to palaeobiology, the three‐dimensional Raman imagery that meets both of these needs, which is a nonintrusive, nondestructive technique that can provide data by which to accurately and objectively characterize, in situ and at micron‐scale resolution, the morphology and molecular‐structural composition of permineralized micro‐organisms and their associated matrices. Application of this new technique can provide information about the morphology, taphonomy and fidelity of preservation of fossil micro‐organisms unavailable by any other means.
A Matter of Classes: Stratifying Health Care Populations to Produce Better Estimates of Inpatient Costs
Authors: Rein David B. 
Published: July 2005

Objective. To stratify traditional risk‐adjustment models by health severity classes in a way that is empirically based, is accessible to policy makers, and improves predictions of inpatient costs.Data Sources. Secondary data created from the administrative claims from all 829,356 children aged 21 years and under enrolled in Georgia Medicaid in 1999.Study Design. A finite mixture model was used to assign child Medicaid patients to health severity classes. These class assignments were then used to stratify both portions of a traditional two‐part risk‐adjustment model predicting inpatient Medicaid expenditures. Traditional model results were compared with the stratified model using actuarial statistics.Principal Findings. The finite mixture model identified four classes of children: a majority healthy class and three illness classes with increasing levels of severity. Stratifying the traditional two‐part risk‐adjustment model by health severity classes improved its R2 from 0.17 to 0.25. The majority of additional predictive power resulted from stratifying the second part of the two‐part model. Further, the preference for the stratified model was unaffected by months of patient enrollment time.Conclusions.Stratifying health care populations based on measures of health severity is a powerful method to achieve more accurate cost predictions. Insurers who ignore the predictive advances of sample stratification in setting risk‐adjusted premiums may create strong financial incentives for adverse selection. Finite mixture models provide an empirically based, replicable methodology for stratification that should be accessible to most health care financial managers.
Nursing Home Spending Patterns in the 1990s: The Role of Nursing Home Competition and Excess Demand
Authors: Mukamel Dana B. , Spector William D. , Bajorska Alina 
Published: July 2005

Objective. To examine nursing home expenditures on clinical, hotel, and administrative activities during the 1990s and to determine the association between nursing home competition and excess demand on expenditures.Data Sources/Study Setting. Secondary data sources for 1991, 1996, and 1999 for 500 free‐standing nursing homes in New York State.Study Design. A retrospective statistical analysis of nursing homes' expenditures. The dependent variables were clinical, hotel, and administrative costs in each year. Independent variables included outputs (inpatient and outpatient), wages, ownership, New York City location, and measures of competition and excess demand.Data Collection/Extraction Method. Variables were constructed from annual financial reports submitted by the nursing homes, the Patient Review Instrument and Medicare enrollment data.Principal Findings. Clinical and administrative costs have increased over the decade, while hotel expenditures have declined. Increased competition was associated with higher clinical and administrative costs while excess demand was associated with lower clinical and hotel expenditures.Conclusions. Nursing home expenditures are sensitive to competition and excess demand conditions. Policies that influence competition in nursing home markets are therefore likely to have an impact on expenditures as well.
Patients' Preferences for Technical versus Interpersonal Quality When Selecting a Primary Care Physician
Authors: Fung Constance H. , Elliott Marc N. , Hays Ron D. , Kahn Katherine L. , Kanouse David E. , McGlynn Elizabeth A. , Spranca Mark D. , Shekelle Paul G. 
Published: July 2005

Objective. To assess patients' use of and preferences for information about technical and interpersonal quality when using simulated, computerized health care report cards to select a primary care provider (PCP).Data Sources/Study Setting. Primary data collected from 304 adult consumers living in Los Angeles County in January and February 2003.Study Design/Data Collection. We constructed computerized report cards for seven pairs of hypothetical individual PCPs (two internal validity check pairs included). Participants selected the physician that they preferred. A questionnaire collected demographic information and assessed participant attitudes towards different sources of report card information. The relationship between patient characteristics and number of times the participant selected the physician who excelled in technical quality are estimated using an ordered logit model.Principal Findings. Ninety percent of the sample selected the dominant physician for both validity checks, indicating a level of attention to task comparable with prior studies. When presented with pairs of physicians who varied in technical and interpersonal quality, two‐thirds of the sample (95 percent CI: 62, 72 percent) chose the physician who was higher in technical quality at least three out of five times (one‐sample binomial test of proportion). Age, gender, and ethnicity were not significant predictors of choosing the physician who was higher in technical quality.Conclusions. These participants showed a strong preference for physicians of high technical quality when forced to make tradeoffs, but a substantial proportion of the sample preferred physicians of high interpersonal quality. Individual physician report cards should contain ample information in both domains to be most useful to patients.
Assessing the Implementation of the Chronic Care Model in Quality Improvement Collaboratives
Authors: Pearson Marjorie L. , Wu Shinyi , Schaefer Judith , Bonomi Amy E. , Shortell Stephen M. , Mendel Peter J. , Marsteller Jill A. , Louis Thomas A. , Rosen Mayde , Keeler Emmett B. 
Published: July 2005

Objective. To measure organizations' implementation of Chronic Care Model (CCM) interventions for chronic care quality improvement (QI).Data Sources/Study Setting. Monthly reports submitted by 42 organizations participating in three QI collaboratives to improve care for congestive heart failure, diabetes, depression, and asthma, and telephone interviews with key informants in the organizations.Study Design. We qualitatively analyzed the implementation activities of intervention organizations as part of a larger effectiveness evaluation of yearlong collaboratives. Key study variables included measures of implementation intensity (quantity and depth of implementation activities) as well as fidelity to the CCM.Data Collection/Extraction Methods. We developed a CCM‐based scheme to code sites' intervention activities and criteria to rate their depth or likelihood of impact.Principal Findings. The sites averaged more than 30 different change efforts each to implement the CCM. The depth ratings for these changes, however, were more modest, ranging from 17 percent to 76 percent of the highest rating possible. The participating organizations significantly differed in the intensity of their implementation efforts (p<.001 in both quantity and depth ratings). Fidelity to the CCM was high.Conclusions. Collaborative participants were able, with some important variation, to implement large numbers of diverse QI change strategies, with high CCM fidelity and modest depth of implementation. QI collaboratives are a useful method to foster change in real world settings.