Who has a repeat abortion? Identifying women at risk of repeated terminations of pregnancy : analysis of routinely collected health care data

Authors’ thanks goes to Mr Peter Szchechina and Mr Alastair Soutar for extracting the data for this study and to Prof Allan Templeton for initiating the TOPS database in Grampian and for critically evaluating the manuscript.Peer reviewedPostprin

Help-seeking behaviour in women diagnosed with gynaecological cancer : a systematic review

Pauline Williams completed this work while undertaking an NHS Research Scotland career researcher fellowship that supported salary costs.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Spontaneous very preterm birth in relation to social class, and smoking : a temporal-spatial analysis of routinely collected data in Aberdeen, Scotland (1985–2010)

Authors thanks goes to the Data Management Team, University of Aberdeen for extracting the data. Many thanks to Charles Opondo for his comments on the manuscript.Peer reviewedPostprin

Leaf Herbivory Induces Resistance Against Florivores In \u3ci\u3eRaphanus sativus\u3c/i\u3e

Florivory can have significant negative effects on plant fitness, driving selection for resistance traits in flowers. In particular, herbivory to leaves may induce resistance in flowers because herbivores on leaves often become florivores on flowers as plant ontogeny proceeds. The literature on inducible resistance in floral tissues is limited, so we used a series of experiments to determine whether prior leaf damage by Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) caterpillars affected florivore preference and performance on wild radish (Raphanus sativus L.). We found that Spodoptera exigua larvae preferred petals from control plants versus petals from plants exposed to prior leaf damage, and that larvae gained more mass on petals from control plants, although this depended on the presence of anthocyanins in the petals. Our results suggest that leaf damage can induce changes in petals that reduce Spodoptera exigua larval fitness

Obstetric and haematological management and outcomes of women with placenta accreta spectrum by planned or urgent delivery : Secondary data analysis of a public referral hospital in Lebanon

We would like to thank Rafik Hariri University Hospital for providing the data for this studyPeer reviewe

Factors associated with female genital mutilation : A systematic review and synthesis of national, regional, and community-based studies.

Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Acknowledgment We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Ms. Sandra Kahwaji and Ms. Jana Abu Ayash for their help in the title and abstract screening of articles. We thank Dr. Sawsan Abdulrahim for insightful comments and edits on preliminary drafts.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The global prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting : A systematic review and meta-analysis of national, regional, facility, and school-based studies

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. Acknowledgments We thank Dr. Marie-Claire Rebeiz, Mrs. Tanya Khoury, and Ms. Sara Mansour who verified the data in the tables.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Maternal mortality is preventable in Lebanon : A case series of maternal deaths to identify lessons learned using the “Three Delays” model

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon and Dr. Sirine Daouk for their valuable contribution in providing the authors with the required data to complete the research study, and UNFPA-Lebanon for their support of the maternal mortality reporting and documentation process. FUNDING INFORMATION MCR's salary was funded by the University Research Board, American University of Beirut. This research study received no external funding.Peer reviewe

Trends, wealth inequalities and the role of the private sector in caesarean section in the Middle East and North Africa : A repeat cross-sectional analysis of population-based surveys

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Comparison of Texture Features Derived from Static and Respiratory-Gated PET Images in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: PET-based texture features have been used to quantify tumor heterogeneity due to their predictive power in treatment outcome. We investigated the sensitivity of texture features to tumor motion by comparing static (3D) and respiratory-gated (4D) PET imaging. Methods: Twenty-six patients (34 lesions) received 3D and 4D [18F]FDG-PET scans before the chemo-radiotherapy. The acquired 4D data were retrospectively binned into five breathing phases to create the 4D image sequence. Texture features, including Maximal correlation coefficient (MCC), Long run low gray (LRLG), Coarseness, Contrast, and Busyness, were computed within the physician-defined tumor volume. The relative difference (δ3D-4D) in each texture between the 3D- and 4D-PET imaging was calculated. Coefficient of variation (CV) was used to determine the variability in the textures between all 4D-PET phases. Correlations between tumor volume, motion amplitude, and δ3D-4D were also assessed. Results: 4D-PET increased LRLG ( = 1%–2%, p0.08) compared to 3D-PET. Nearly negligible variability was found between the 4D phase bins with CV<5% for MCC, LRLG, and Coarseness. For Contrast and Busyness, moderate variability was found with CV = 9% and 10%, respectively. No strong correlation was found between the tumor volume and δ3D-4D for the texture features. Motion amplitude had moderate impact on δ for MCC and Busyness and no impact for LRLG, Coarseness, and Contrast. Conclusions: Significant differences were found in MCC, LRLG, Coarseness, and Busyness between 3D and 4D PET imaging. The variability between phase bins for MCC, LRLG, and Coarseness was negligible, suggesting that similar quantification can be obtained from all phases. Texture features, blurred out by respiratory motion during 3D-PET acquisition, can be better resolved by 4D-PET imaging. 4D-PET textures may have better prognostic value as they are less susceptible to tumor motion