The aim of this case control study was to evaluate the thus far controversially discussed influence of acupuncture (AP) on the duration of labor. Fifty-seven women with AP treatment (group A) were included in our study after spontaneous vaginal full-term delivery. The control group included 63 women (group B). Median duration of the first stage of labor was 196 min in group A and 321 min in gro...

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the pastoral region of Afar, in eastern and central Ethiopia, to determine the distribution of brucellosis in small ruminants. Between December 2005 and June 2006, 1,568 serum samples were taken: 563 samples from sheep and 1,005 from goats. One hundred and forty-seven of these (9.4%) tested positive using the Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT), and 76 (4.8%) ...

In order to compare the standard swim-up semen preparation with and without test yolk buffer (TYB) incubation in intrauterine insemination (IUI), we conducted a prospective multicentre randomized trial. A total of 121 infertile couples with male factor (n = 52) or unexplained infertility (n = 69) was randomly assigned to two groups following ovulation induction. Semen was prepared by standard s...

PURPOSE The failure rates of restorative procedures for children undergoing dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia, performed by pediatric dental residents in advanced educational programs, were evaluated in order to determine treatment outcomes and best practices. METHODS Retrospective review of 504 dental records of children receiving comprehensive dental treatment under general ane...

CONTEXT Isoniazid preventive therapy for latent tuberculosis (TB) infection has been debated because of the risk of hepatotoxicity. The frequency of hepatotoxicity was 0.5% to 2.0% in early studies but may have changed with new criteria for diagnosis and patient selection. OBJECTIVE To determine the rate of isoniazid hepatotoxicity in patients managed according to current guidelines and pract...

BACKGROUND Despite significant progress in the treatment of coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction is still the leading cause of death in the United States. As suggested by Leventhal's Self-Regulation Model of Illness, the continued high morbidity and mortality may be due to a failure to address the role of psychosocial factors such as illness representation, depression, and anxiety in ...

This correlational study examined the adherence rates of transdermal nicotine (TN) use among a population of males and females 18 years of age and older (N = 619) who received varying levels of behavioral intervention. Rates of patch adherence were assessed for demographic (e.g., gender, ethnicity, and age), income-, smoking- [e.g., baseline carbon monoxide (CO), nicotine dependence, and follow...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis so we could evaluate the impact of antipsychotics on the P50 ratio in Chinese schizophrenia patients. METHODS Data were collected from the following databases: PubMed, China Biological Medicine Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Cochrane Library and Elsevier Science Direct, with the latest report up to May 2011. A...

BACKGROUND Cholera has claimed many lives throughout history and it continues to be a global threat, especially in countries in Africa. The disease is listed as one of three internationally quarantinable diseases by the World Health organization, along with plague and yellow fever. Between 1999 and 2005, Africa alone accounted for about 90% of over 1 million reported cholera cases worldwide. In...

Several groups of Amazonian fishes exhibit behavioral, morphological and physiological characteristics that allow occupying hypoxic environments, despite the energetic costs of living in such harsh conditions. One of the supposed advantages of occupying hypoxic habitats would be a lower predation pressure resulting from a lower number of piscivorous fishes in those environments. We tested this ...