BACKGROUND Validation of a method for the minimally-invasive measurement of physiological stress will help understanding of risk factors that may contribute to stress-associated events including recrudescence of Equid herpesvirus (EHV), which is anecdotally associated with sales consignment of pregnant Thoroughbred mares. In this study we compared two similar groups of late-gestation Thoroughbr...

There is a need to identify biomarkers that predict degree of chronic speech fluency/language impairment and potential for improvement after stroke. We previously showed that the Arcuate Fasciculus lesion load (AF-LL), a combined variable of lesion site and size, predicted speech fluency in patients with chronic aphasia. In the current study, we compared lesion loads of such a structural map (i...

The objectives of this study were to identify decision makers for FGM and determine whether medicalization takes place in Sierra Leone. Structured interviews were conducted with 310 randomly selected girls between 10 and 20 years in Bombali and Port Loko Districts in Northern Sierra Leone. The average age of the girls in this sample was 14 years, 61% had undergone FGM at an average age of 7.7 y...

This paper presents an approach based on topological hierarchy to representation and subsequent fabrication of functionally graded multi-material (FGM) objects by layered manufacturing. The approach represents an FGM object by material control functions and discretisation of slice contours. Based on the topological hierarchy of slice contours, material control functions are associated with cont...

Sitting down to write this editorial on 6 February, the Global ‘Day of Zero Tolerance’ for female genital mutilation (FGM), it feels somewhat disconcerting to be introducing a feature article arguing for a ‘compromise position’ towards a practice that is widely accepted as abhorrent. Indeed, I’m sure many of the journal’s readers will share my intuitive response that there is little scope for e...

OBJECTIVE Worldwide, an estimated 125 million girls and women live with female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). We aimed to systematically review the evidence for physical health risks associated with FGM/C. DESIGN We searched 15 databases to identify studies (up to January 2012). Selection criteria were empirical studies reporting physical health outcomes from FGM/C, affecting females wit...

BACKGROUND Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a harmful traditional practice that affects two out of three girls in The Gambia, seriously threatening their life and well-being with severe health consequences. By tracking the reference values established in former research conducted between 2009 and 2011, the objectives of this study are to explore trends and to measure and assess chan...