Evaluation of the normal gastrointestinal tract in cats using dual-phase computed tomography.

Objectives: In cats, although ultrasonography remains the preferred modality to evaluate the gastrointestinal tract, computed tomographic (CT) examination of the abdomen is commonly performed. However, a normal description of the gastrointestinal tract is lacking. This study describes the conspicuity and contrast enhancement pattern of the normal gastrointestinal tract in cats using dual-phase CT.

Dynamic Bayesian adjustment of anticipatory covariates in retrospective data: application to the effect of education on divorce risk.

We address a problem in inference from retrospective studies where the value of a variable is measured at the date of the survey but is used as covariate to events that have occurred long before the survey. This causes problem because the value of the current-date (anticipatory) covariate does not follow the temporal order of events. We propose a dynamic Bayesian approach for modelling jointly the anticipatory covariate and the event of interest, and allowing the effects of the anticipatory covariate to vary over time.

Bayesian change-point modelling of the effects of 3-points-for-a-win rule in football.

We examine the effects of the 3-points-for-a-win (3pfaw) rule in the football world. Data that form the basis of our analyses come from seven leagues around the world (Albania, Brazil, England, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Scotland) and consist of mean goals and proportions of decided matches over a period of about six years before- and about seven years after the introduction of the rule in the respective leagues. Bayesian change-point analyses and Shiryaev-Roberts tests show that the rule had no effects on the mean goals but, indeed, had increasing effects on the proportions of decided matches in most of the leagues studied.

An application of diagonal reference models and time-varying covariates in social mobility research on mortality and fertility.

In social mobility research, the diagonal reference model (DRM) is argued to best isolate the effect of social mobility from origin and destination status effects. In demographic research, standard analyses of the duration until an event occurs rely heavily on the appropriate use of covariates that change over time. We apply these best-practice methods to the study of social mobility and demographic outcomes in Sweden using register data that covers the years 1996-2012.

Environmental recidivism in Sweden: distributional shape and effects of sanctions on duration of compliance.

The study examines the association between the size of previous environmental sanction charges and subsequent compliance towards environmental regulations. Data used for the study come from about 9000 Swedish firms fined sometime between January 2002 and December 2012. Probabilities of compliance across various levels of sanctions are estimated using life-table methods and tested for equality using standard nonparametric methods.

On the effects of malaria treatment on parasite drug resistance--probability modelling of genotyped malaria infections.

We compare the frequency of resistant genes of malaria parasites before treatment and at first malaria incidence after treatment. The data come from a clinical trial at two health facilities in Tanzania and concerns single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at three positions believed to be related to resistance to malaria treatment. A problem is that mixed infections are common, which both obscures the underlying frequency of alleles at each locus as well as the associations between loci in samples where alleles are mixed.

Geographic differentials in mortality of children in Mozambique: their implications for achievement of Millennium Development Goal 4.

In the light of Mozambique's progress towards the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 4 of reducing mortality of children aged less than five years (under-five mortality) by two-thirds within 2015, this study investigated the relationship between the province of mother's residence and under-five mortality in Mozambique, using data from the 2003 Mozambican Demographic and Health Survey. The analyses included 10,326 children born within 10 years before the survey. Results of univariate and multivariate analyses showed a significant association between under-five mortality and province (region) of mother's residence.

Inequities in under-five mortality in Nigeria: differentials by religious affiliation of the mother.

Observations in Nigeria have indicated polio vaccination refusal related to religion that ultimately affected child morbidity and mortality. This study assessed the role of religion in under-five (0-59 months) mortality using a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of 7,620 women aged 15-49 years from the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey and included 6,029 children. Results show that mother's affiliation to Traditional indigenous religion is significantly associated with increased under-five mortality.

Birth-spacing patterns in Huaning County, Yunnan Province, PRC: is the adoption of a small family norm sustainable?

China's family planning programs have emphasized delayed marriage and longer spacing between births. Since 1970, the fertility has declined from 6 to 1.8 births and the mean age at first marriage has gone up but the recommended spacing intervals have not been fully realized.

Inequalities in under-five mortality in Mozambique: differentials by region of residence and ethnic affiliation of the mother.

Objective: To explore regional and ethnic differentials in under-five mortality in Mozambique in relation to other determinants.

Design: Retrospective follow-up study.

Setting: Mozambique.

Changes in marriage age and first birth interval in Huaning County, Yunnan Province, PR China.

The timing of marriages, first birth interval and the prevalence of premarital conception (PMC) among women of successive birth cohorts in one rural county in Yunnan, China, were examined. Detailed pregnancy histories were collected for 1,336 women aged 15-64 years using a Life History Calendar. The rising marriage age and shorter first birth interval correspond to over-all changes in the Chinese society over the same time period.

Contribution of household environment factors to urban childhood mortality in Mozambique.

Objectives: Household environment factors are known to be associated with child mortality in urban and rural areas of many developing countries. In Mozambique, no study to date has addressed this relationship. This study is aimed to access the contribution of household environment factors to urban childhood mortality in Mozambique.

Inequalities in child mortality in Mozambique: differentials by parental socio-economic position.

This study investigates the relation between socio-economic parental position (education and occupation) and child death in Mozambique using data from the Mozambican Demographic and Health Survey carried out between March and July 1997. The analysis included 9142 children born within 10 years before the survey. In spite of the Western system of classification used in the study, the results partly showed a parental socio-economic gradient of infant and child mortality in Mozambique.

Trends in infant and child mortality in Mozambique during and after a period of conflict.

This study describes urban and rural trends of infant, child and under-five mortality in Mozambique (1973-1997) by mother's place of residence. A direct method of estimation was applied to the 1997 Mozambican Demographic and Health Survey data. The levels of infant, child and under-five mortality were considerably higher in rural than in urban areas.

Analysis of survival data with multiple causes of failure: a comparison of hazard- and logistic-regression models with application in demography.

"The purpose of the paper is to compare results of estimation and inference concerning covariate effects as obtained from two approaches to the analysis of survival data with multiple causes of failure. The first approach involves a dynamic model for the cause-specific hazard rate. The second is based on a static logistic regression model for the conditional probability of having had an event of interest.