bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Compensation of geometric and elastic errors in large manipulators with
an application to a high accuracy medical system
Authors: Drouet Ph. , Dubowsky S. , Zeghloul S. , Mavroidis C.
Published: July 2002

A method is presented that compensates for manipulator end-point errors in order to achieve very high position accuracy. The measured end-point error
is decomposed into generalized geometric and elastic error parameters that are used in an analytical model to calibrate the system as a function of its configuration and the task loads, including any payload weight. The method exploits the fundamental mechanics of serial manipulators to yield a non-iterative compensation process that only requires the identification of parameters that are function only of one variable. The resulting method is computationally simple and requires far less measured data than might be expected. The method is applied to a six degrees-of-freedom (DOF) medical robot that positions patients for cancer proton therapy to enable it to achieve very high accuracy. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the method.
A climbing autonomous robot for inspection applications in 3D complex environments
Authors: Balaguer C. , Giménez A. , Pastor J. M. , Padrón V. M. , Abderrahim M.
Published: July 2002

Often inspection and maintenance work involve a large number of highly
dangerous manual operations, especially within industrial fields such as shipbuilding
and construction. This paper deals with the autonomous climbing robot which uses the “caterpillar” concept to climb in complex 3D metallic-based structures. During its motion the robot generates in real-time the path and grasp planning in order to ensure stable self-support to avoid the environment obstacles, and to optimise the robot consumption during the inspection. The control and monitoring of the robot is achieved through an advanced Graphical User Interface to allow an effective and user friendly operation of the robot. The experiments confirm its advantages in executing the inspection
operations.
Reasons to teach music: establishing a place in the contemporary curriculum
Authors: Pitts Stephanie
Published: July 2002

Studies in the history of music education reveal much about the place and purpose of music in the changing curriculum. In this article, the ideas of some significant British music educators of the twentieth century are considered, in an evaluation of the apparent goals of music teaching that have been articulated over the decades. The connections between rationale and practice are discussed, with published ideas placed alongside the views of contemporary teachers in a small-scale questionnaire survey. The conclusion is proposed that school music, as a small part of the child's musical identity, must be modest in its intentions but ambitious in its provision.
Symposium on Amartya Sen's philosophy: 1 Capability and freedom: a defence of Sen
Authors: Pettit Philip
Published: July 2002

In a recent discussion of Amartya Sen's concept of the capabilities of people for functioning in their society – and the idea of targeting people's functioning capabilities in evaluating the society – G. A. Cohen accuses Sen of espousing an inappropriate, ‘athletic’ image of the person (Cohen, 1993, pp. 24–5). The idea is that if Sen's formulations are to be taken at face value, then life is valuable only so far as people actively choose most facets of their existence: if they fare well in the material stakes, for example, they must fare well as a result of active choice and effort, not because anyone else looks after them. ‘That’, says Cohen, ‘overestimates the place of freedom and activity in well-being’ (p. 25).
PATIENT, PHYSICIAN, AND PAYER PERCEPTIONS AND MISPERCEPTIONS OF
WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR DIAGNOSTIC CERTAINTY
Authors: Hirth Richard A. , Bloom Bernard S. , Chernew Michael E. , Fendrick A. Mark
Published: July 2002

Little is known about the value patients, physicians, and payers place on
intangible attributes of care. Differences in valuations among these groups
and misperceptions of value of intangible attributes to other groups can
contribute to conflicts about treatment recommendations or coverage decisions.
We surveyed patients, physicians, and managed care executives to assess their
willingness to pay (WTP) for diagnostic certainty for peptic ulcer disease
(PUD) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). To determine if patients,
physicians, and payers accurately perceive each other's valuations of
diagnostic certainty, participants were also asked to estimate the WTP of each
of the other types of respondents. Patients were most likely, and executives
least likely, to value diagnostic certainty. For PUD, 84% of patients, 61% of
physicians, and 43% of executives expressed a positive WTP. Median WTP was low
for all three groups ($1–9 for patients and physicians; $0 for payers).
Physicians and executives both correctly predicted patient WTP. For GERD, 87%
of patients, 52% of physicians, and 29% of executives expressed a positive
WTP. Executives underestimated patient WTP. For both diseases,
physicians' WTP was overestimated by patients and underestimated by
executives. The inconsistency in the value that patients, physicians, and
managed care executives place on diagnostic certainty indicates the potential
for conflict over practice guidelines or access to services. WTP surveys can
provide information to aid in anticipating and addressing areas of
disagreement.
THE VALUATION OF INFORMAL CARE IN ECONOMIC APPRAISAL
Authors: Brouwer Werner B. F. , van Exel N. Job A. , Koopmanschap Marc A. , Rutten Frans F. H.
Published: July 2002

This article dicusses the individual's choice to engage in informal
care as an issue for economic evaluation. Traditional methods used in economic
evaluation studies for valuing time spent on informal care are discussed and
an alternative method is put forward that incorporates the quality of life of
caregivers as an outcome measure to represent the effects on caregivers. The
methodological issues concerning the valuation of informal caregivers'
time are becoming more important as new drugs and other health care
technologies are introduced for patients with diseases that are typically
associated with informal care.
GOODNESS-OF-FIT TESTS BASED ON KERNEL DENSITY ESTIMATORS
WITH FIXED SMOOTHING PARAMETERS
Authors: Fan Yanqin
Published: July 2002

In this paper, we study the bias-corrected test
developed in Fan (1994). It is based on the integrated
squared difference between a kernel estimator of the unknown
density function of a random vector and a kernel smoothed
estimator of the parametric density function to be tested
under the null hypothesis. We provide an alternative asymptotic
approximation of the finite-sample distribution of this
test by fixing the smoothing parameter. In contrast to
the normal approximation obtained in Fan (1994) in which
the smoothing parameter shrinks to zero as the sample size
grows to infinity, we obtain a non-normal asymptotic distribution
for the bias-corrected test. A parametric bootstrap procedure
is proposed to approximate the critical values of this
test. We show both analytically and by simulation that
the proposed bootstrap procedure works. Consistency and
local power properties of the bias-corrected test with
a fixed smoothing parameter are also discussed.
UNEQUALLY SPACED PANEL DATA REGRESSIONS WITH AR(1) DISTURBANCES
Authors: Baltagi Badi H. , Wu Ping X.
Published: July 2002

This paper deals with the estimation of unequally
spaced panel data regression models with AR(1) remainder
disturbances. A feasible generalized least squares (GLS)
procedure is proposed as a weighted least squares that
can handle a wide range of unequally spaced panel data
patterns. This procedure is simple to compute and provides
natural estimates of the serial correlation and variance
components parameters. The paper also provides a locally
best invariant test for zero first-order serial correlation
against positive or negative serial correlation in case
of unequally spaced panel data.
How important are forest elephants to the survival of woody plant species in Upper Guinean forests?
Authors: Hawthorne William D. , Parren Marc P. E.
Published: July 2002

Elephant populations have declined greatly in the rain forests of Upper Guinea (Africa, west of the Dahomey Gap). Elephants have a number of well-known influences on vegetation, both detrimental and beneficial to trees. They are dispersers of a large number of woody forest species, giving rise to concerns that without elephants the plant diversity of Upper Guinean forest plant communities will not be maintained. This prospect was examined with respect to four sources of inventory and research data from Ghana, covering nearly all (more than 2000) species of forest plant. Evidence supporting the hypothesis that plant populations are collapsing without elephants is conspicuously absent in these datasets, although Balanites wilsoniana is likely to suffer dramatically on a centennial scale in the absence of forest elephants. A few other species are likely to decline, although at an even slower rate. In the context of other processes current in these forests, loss of elephants is an insignificant concern for plant biodiversity. Elephant damage of forests can be very significant in Africa, but loss of this influence is more than compensated for by human disturbance. Elephants have played a significant part in the shaping of West African rain forest vegetation. However, it is the conservation of elephants that should be of primary concern. Tree populations should be managed to promote them, rather than vice versa.
Non-indigenous bamboo along headwater streams of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico: leaf fall, aquatic leaf decay and patterns of invasion
Authors: O'connor Paul J. , Covich Alan P. , Scatena F. N. , Loope Lloyd L.
Published: July 2002

The introduction of bamboo to montane rain forests of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico in the 1930s and 1940s has led to present-day bamboo monocultures in numerous riparian areas. When a non-native species invades a riparian ecosystem, in-stream detritivores can be affected. Bamboo dynamics expected to influence stream communities in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) were examined. Based on current distributions, bamboo has spread downstream at a rate of 8 m y−1. Mean growth rate of bamboo culms was 15.3 cm d−1. Leaf fall from bamboo stands exceeded that of native mixed-species forest by c. 30% over a 10-mo study. Bamboo leaves (k = −0.021), and leaves from another abundant riparian exotic, Syzygium jambos (Myrtaceae) (k = −0.018), decayed at relatively slow rates when submerged in streams in fine-mesh bags which excluded macro-invertebrate leaf processors. In a second study, with leaf processors present, bamboo decay rates remained unchanged (k = −0.021), while decay rates of S. jambos increased (k = −0.037). Elemental losses from bamboo leaves in streams were rapid, further suggesting a change in riparian zone / stream dynamics following bamboo invasion. As non-indigenous bamboos spread along Puerto Rico streams, they are likely to alter aquatic communities dependent on leaf input.
Mineral nutrient concentrations as a function of seed size within seed crops: implications for competition among seedlings and defence against herbivory
Authors: GRUBB PETER J. , BURSLEM DAVID F. R. P.
Published: July 2002

The intra-crop variation in the concentrations of major nutrients in the embryo-cum-endosperm (EE) fraction of seeds of 12 tree species of SE Asian lowland rain forest was investigated. Increased seed size was associated with a significant decrease in the EE concentration of N in 10 species, P and K in seven, Mg in six, and Ca in four. In contrast, the EE nutrient content increased with seed size, typically by about 1.6-fold where seed mass was 2-fold greater. In three species the allocation to protective tissues decreased with increased seed size. The results are potentially relevant to competition among young seedlings, optimal foraging by predators, allocation to defence by plants, and understanding the controls on filling of seeds.
Chemistry, mineralogy and microbiology of termite mound soil eaten by the chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, Western Tanzania
Authors: Mahaney William C. , Zippin Jessica , Milner Michael W. , Sanmugadas Kandiah , Hancock R. G. V. , Aufreiter Susan , Campbell Sean , Huffman Michael A. , Wink Michael , Malloch David , Kalm Volli
Published: July 2002

Subsamples of termite mound soil used by chimpanzees for geophagy, and topsoil never ingested by them, from the forest floor in the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania, were analysed to determine the possible stimulus or stimuli for geophagy. The ingested samples have a dominant clay texture equivalent to a claystone, whereas the control samples are predominantly sandy clay loam or sandy loam, which indicates that particle size plays a significant role in soil selection for this behaviour. One potential function of the clays is to bind and adsorb toxins. Although both termite mound and control samples have similar alkaloid-binding capacities, they are in every case very high, with the majority of the samples being above 80%. The clay size material (<2 μm) contains metahalloysite and halloysite, the latter a hydrated aluminosilicate (Al2Si2O4·nH2O), present in the majority of both the termite mound soil and control soil samples.Metahalloysite, one of the principal ingredients found in the pharmaceutical Kaopectate™, is used to treat minor gastric ailments in humans. The soils commonly ingested could also function as antacids, as over half had pH values between 7.2 and 8.6. The mean concentrations of the majority of elements measured were greater in the termite mound soils than in the control soils. The termite mound soils had more filamentous bacteria, whereas the control soils contained greater numbers of unicellular bacteria and fungi.
Predictive validity of the New Zealand
MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory:
Words and Sentences
Authors: REESE ELAINE , READ STEPHANIE
Published: July 2002

This study assessed the long-term predictive validity of the MacArthur
Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Sentences
(CDI[ratio ]WS; Fenson, Dale, Reznick, Thal, Bates, Hartung, Pethick &
Reilly, 1993) for children's expressive and receptive vocabulary development.
Sixty-one New Zealand children (31 females) were assessed
with a New Zealand version of the CDI[ratio ]WS at 1;7 and 2;1 and with the
Expressive Vocabulary Test (Williams, 1997) and the Peabody Picture
Vocabulary Test-III (Dunn & Dunn, 1997) at 2;8 and 3;4. Excellent
reliability and good predictive validity was obtained for the NZ
CDI[ratio ]WS even over a 21-month delay. Predictive validity of the NZ
CDI[ratio ]WS for the PPVT-III was higher for children of mothers with less
education. We discuss the implications of these results for use of the
CDI[ratio ]WS with children from a broad range of cultural and educational
backgrounds.
Why is a pomegranate an apple? The role of shape,
taxonomic relatedness, and prior lexical knowledge
in children's overextensions of apple and dog
Authors: GELMAN SUSAN A. , CROFT WILLIAM , FU PANFANG , CLAUSNER TIMOTHY , GOTTFRIED GAIL
Published: July 2002

Children's overextensions (e.g. referring to a pomegranate
as apple)
raise intriguing questions regarding early word meanings. Specifically,

how do object shape, taxonomic relatedness, and prior lexical knowledge

influence children's overextensions? The present study sheds new light

on this issue by presenting items that disentangle the three factors of

shape, taxonomic category, and prior lexical knowledge, and by using a

novel comprehension task (the screened-alternative task) in which
children can indicate negative exemplars (e.g. which items are notapples). 49 subjects in three age groups participated
(Ms=2;0, 2;6, and 4;5). Findings indicate: (1) Error patterns
differed by task. In
production, errors were overwhelmingly due to selecting items that
matched the target word in both shape and taxonomic relatedness.
In
comprehension, more errors were based on either shape alone or
taxonomic relatedness alone, and the nature and frequency of the
overextensions interacted with prior lexical knowledge. (2) Error
patterns also differed markedly based on the word being tested (apple

vs. dog), in both comprehension and production. (3) As predicted,

errors were more frequent in production than comprehension, though
only for children in the two younger age groups. Altogether, the study

indicates that overextensions are not simply production errors, and that

both taxonomic relatedness and object shape play a powerful role in
early naming errors.
Mothers', fathers', and siblings' responses to
children's language errors: comparing sources of
negative evidence
Authors: STRAPP CHEHALIS M.
Published: July 2002

Despite previous work showing that mothers, fathers, and siblings
provide negative evidence regarding children's grammatical errors, the
role of linguistic input remains controversial. Since most work in this
area has concentrated on negative evidence in the mother–child dyad,
this study extended prior work by comparing mothers', fathers' and
siblings' corrective repetitions to children's errors across different
family settings. Fourteen children (2;3) were videotaped interacting
with their mothers, fathers, and siblings (4;1) in dyad, triad, and tetrad
settings. Analyses revealed that mothers and fathers provided more
corrective repetitions than siblings did. Although the size of the setting
did not differentiate responding, when specific configurations were
examined differences emerged. Analyses of individual families revealed
that all children received feedback following syntax errors. These results
are discussed in terms of current negative evidence research.
Assessment of EGNOS Tropospheric Correction Model
Authors: Penna Nigel , Dodson Alan , Chen Wu
Published: July 2002

Within the implementation of the European Geo-stationary Navigation Overlay System
(EGNOS), a significant residual error in positioning is due to tropospheric delay effects. The
EGNOS guidelines recommend that tropospheric delay is modelled using an empirical
correction algorithm based on a receiver's height and estimates of meteorological parameters
developed from average and seasonal variation data. However, such a simple average and
seasonal variation model is unlikely to emulate temporal weather changes exactly. The
potential errors involved in the application of the recommended algorithm and the
consequent effects on the positioning errors, under typical UK weather conditions, are
detailed in this paper. This was achieved by comparing tropospheric delays produced by the
EGNOS model, with tropospheric delays estimated from high precision carrier phase GPS,
over a one-year period for five UK stations. The RMS EGNOS model zenith tropospheric
delay errors ranged from 4·0 to 4·7 cm, with maximum errors ranging from 13·2 to 17·8 cm.
The errors were also shown to be spatially correlated. The subsequent effect on position error
is shown to be dependent on the satellite elevation cut-off angle adopted and on whether or
not the observations are weighted according to the satellite elevation angle.
Applying Back-propagation Neural Networks to GDOP Approximation
Authors: Jwo Dah-Jing , Chin Kuo-Pin
Published: July 2002

In this paper, back-propagation (BP) neural networks (NN) are applied to the GPS satellite Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) approximation. The methods using BPNN are general enough to be applicable regardless of the number of satellite signals being processed by the receiver. BPNN is employed to learn the functional relationships firstly, between the entries of a measurement matrix and the eigenvalues and thus generate GDOP, and secondly, between the entries of a measurement matrix and the GDOP, both without inverting a matrix. Consequently, two sets of entries and two sets of output variables, respectively, are used that in total yield four types of mapping architectures. Simulation results from these four architectures are presented. The performance and computational benefit of neural network-based GDOP approximation are explored.
Characterizing human-modelled landscapes at a stationary state: a case study of Minorca, Spain
Authors: CHUST GUILLEM , DUCROT DANIELLE , RIERA JOAN LL. , PRETUS JOAN LL.
Published: July 2002

The island of Minorca, Spain, has become a patchy mosaic landscape as a result of centuries of human-induced fragmentation. The dynamics of the landscape elements and the spatial pattern of Minorca were analysed to test whether this human-modelled landscape was at a stationary state, and, if it was the case, to see whether the system could be characterized by a particular spatial pattern. Landsat TM satellite images were processed to derive land cover classification and vegetation index maps corresponding to the years 1984 and 1992, the best compromise between null cloudiness and maximum time span. The classification was used to test the stationary state by estimating the transition matrix of land cover. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to analyse the spatial pattern of change at the patch level. The spatial analysis of NDVI was based on four indices: fractal dimension, number and size distribution of patches, and spatial Kappa index. Those pattern descriptors were compared with values obtained from stochastic landscape simulations. Temporal analysis showed that land cover proportions remained approximately constant over the 8-year period, although interchange amongst patches existed. This suggested that the landscape of Minorca was close to a stationary state. The study of NDVI changes revealed that the spatial structure was different from that of neutral models and presented scale invariance properties. Results from land cover transitions and from NDVI patterning suggest that the landscape of Minorca is a critical system, in the framework of the self-organized criticality hypothesis, i.e. the mosaic of patches would self-organize at the frontier of a dynamic equilibrium constituted by the balance between disturbances and successional processes.
Study on life-cycle design for the post mass production paradigm
Authors: UMEDA YASUSHI , NONOMURA AKIRA , TOMIYAMA TETSUO
Published: July 2002

Environmental issues require a new manufacturing
paradigm because the current mass production and mass consumption
paradigm inevitably cause them. We have already proposed
a new manufacturing paradigm called the “Post Mass
Production Paradigm (PMPP)” that advocates sustainable
production by decoupling economic growth from material
and energy consumption. To realize PMPP, appropriate planning
of a product life cycle (design of life cycle) is indispensable
in addition to the traditional environmental conscious
design methodologies. For supporting the design of a life
cycle, this paper proposes a life-cycle simulation system
that consists of a life-cycle simulator, an optimizer,
a model editor, and knowledge bases. The simulation system
evaluates product life cycles from an integrated view of
environmental consciousness and economic profitability
and optimizes the life cycles. A case study with the simulation
system illustrates that the environmental impacts can be
reduced drastically without decreasing corporate profits
by appropriately combining maintenance, reuse and recycling,
and by taking into consideration that optimized modular
structures differ according to life-cycle options.
A design-plan-oriented methodology for applying case-based
adaptation to engineering design
Authors: AL-SHIHABI TALAL , ZEID IBRAHIM
Published: July 2002

Adaptation of design cases is usually the most
challenging part in building any case-based reasoning design
system. The success of the adaptation process in finding
a solution for a new design problem determines the success
of the entire case-based reasoning (CBR) system. The techniques
used for generating design solutions have many common aspects
among the various engineering design classes that make
them amenable to be captured in a generic framework for
an acceptable level of abstraction. This paper proposes
a design-plan-oriented methodology for adapting design
cases to produce a solution to a new design problem in
the domain of engineering design. The proposed methodology
uses multicase adaptation and case built-in adaptation
knowledge to produce a design plan for a new design problem.
We first define the model of case representation to work
with the proposed methodology. We then define the overall
structure of the procedural framework of this methodology
and its subprocesses. The system is then demonstrated through
an application from the structural engineering domain.
Differences in the epidemiology of theileriosis on smallholder
dairy farms in contrasting agro-ecological and grazing strata
of highland Kenya
Authors: GITAU G. K. , McDERMOTT J. J. , KATENDE J. M. , O'CALLAGHAN C. J. , BROWN R. N. , PERRY B. D.
Published: July 2002

A prospective cohort study was conducted in five purposively-sampled agro-ecological zone
(AEZ)-grazing system strata in Murang’a District, Kenya, between March 1995 and June 1996.
The study strata were selected based on a preliminary characterization study to represent the
widest range of risks to East Coast fever (ECF) in the District and included zero-grazing and
open-grazing farms. In total, 225 calves from 188 smallholder farms were examined from birth
to 6 months of age and visited within the first 2 weeks of life and thereafter at bi-weekly
intervals for up to 14 visits.

The purpose of the study was to characterize the differences in epidemiology (risks of
infection, morbidity and mortality) and potential control of ECF between the selected strata.
Evidence of Theileria parva infection was assessed by increased antibody levels as measured in
an indirect ELISA assay by the percent positivity (PP) of serum samples relative to a strong
positive reference serum.

Sero-conversion risks of T. parva were highest in the open-grazing strata. Antibody
prevalence in adult cattle and ECF morbidity and mortality risks were also highest in open-grazing strata. While different, all five AEZ-grazing strata were considered to be endemically
unstable for ECF. East Coast fever challenge was low in all zero-grazing strata and this
challenge is likely to remain low due to continuing intensification of smallholder farming in the
central highlands. In the open-grazing strata, there was higher challenge and a greater impact
of ECF.
A whirlpool associated outbreak of Pontiac fever at a hotel in Northern Sweden
Authors: GÖTZ H. M. , TEGNELL A. , DE JONG B. , BROHOLM K. A. , KUUSI M. , KALLINGS I. , EKDAHL K.
Published: July 2002

In April 1999, an outbreak of Pontiac fever occurred at a hotel in Northern Sweden. A retrospective cohort study to find the source and define the extent of the outbreak was carried out among 530 Swedish and Norwegian guests. Twenty-nine epidemiological cases (8 % of 378 responders) aged 21–57 years were identified. Antibodies against Legionella micdadei were detected in 17 of 27 tested cases and 3 other symptomatic persons. Visiting the whirlpool area was identified as the sole risk factor (RR 86; 95 % CI 21–352) and infected cases were confined to visitors to this area over three successive days. The attack rate was 71 % (27/38) and 24 cases (83 %) used the whirlpool. Environmental sampling was negative for Legionella sp. But epidemiological investigation strongly suggests that the whirlpool was the source of the outbreak. The possibility of serious legionella infections underlines the importance of strict maintenance practices to maintain hygiene of whirlpools.
Changes in Vibrio cholerae O1 strains isolated in Romania

during 1977–95
Authors: ISRAIL A. , NACESCU N. , CEDRU CL. , CIUFECU C. , DAMIAN M.
Published: July 2002

Six hundred and twenty-four Vibrio cholerae O1 strains,

623 serotype Ogawa and one serotype
Inaba, isolated in Romania between 1977–95 were tested to detect
all changing traits
concerning serogroup, serotype, biotype, phage type and resistotype patterns
and subsequently,
the possible epidemiological relationship among these strains. Biotyping
revealed one classical,
580 eltor strains and 43 intermediary variants. When tested with Mukerjee
phages, 546 (87%)
strains were sensitive and 78 (13%) resistant. One phage type
(M4) dominated during 1977–90,
two phage types (M4 and M5) exhibited the same high frequencies during
1991, a diversity of
types occurred during 1993–4 whereas in 1995, two phage types (M4
and M5) showed similar
distributions again. Five patterns of drug susceptibility were successively
described during
1977–95. The most prominent changes in Vibrio cholerae
O1 strains were noticed during
1993–4: the highest number of non-typable strains and intermediary
variants, the widest
spectrum of phage types and of multidrug resistance. In 1995, the strains
reverted to the
previous typable forms but a new drug resistance pattern was noticed.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in

nursing homes in a major UK city: an anonymized point

prevalence survey
Authors: FRAISE A. P. , MITCHELL K. , O’BRIEN S. J. , OLDFIELD K. , WISE R.
Published: July 2002

An anonymized point-prevalence survey of methicillin-resistant

Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage was conducted amongst a

stratified random sample of nursing home residents in Birmingham, UK,

during 1994. Microbiological sampling from noses, fingers and the

environment was undertaken. Information about potential risk factors

for the acquisition of MRSA was gathered. MRSA was isolated from

cultures of the nose or fingers of 33 of the 191 residents who took

part in the study (17%) but only 1 of the 33 positive residents had a

clinical infection. Although just 10 of the 87 environmental samples

were MRSA positive, there was some environmental contamination in most

homes. Risk factors for MRSA carriage were hospital admission within

the last year (relative prevalence 2·09, 95% CI

1·13–3·88; P < 0·05) and

surgical procedures within the last year (relative prevalence

4·02, 95% CI 2·18–7·43; P =

0·002). Phage-typing of the strains revealed similarities with

those circulating in Birmingham hospitals. These findings suggest that

the prevalence of MRSA in nursing homes in Birmingham was high, and

that the strains may have originated in hospitals.
Swimming-associated outbreak of Escherichia coli O157[ratio ]H7
Authors: PAUNIO M. , PEBODY R. , KESKIMÄKI M. , KOKKI M. , RUUTU P. , OINONEN S. , VUOTARI V. , SIITONEN A. , LAHTI E. , LEINIKKI P.
Published: July 2002

In 1997 the first outbreak of Escherichia coli O157[ratio ]H7
infections involving 14 cases occurred in
Finland. A case was defined as a resident of Alavus with an episode of
diarrhoea between 5
and 17 July 1997, and from whom E. coli O157[ratio ]H7 was isolated
from stool. The investigation
included case searching and a population-based case control study. Five
primary and eight
symptomatic secondary cases of E. coli O157[ratio ]H7 illness were
detected. In the 10 days before
the outbreak, all 5 primary patients (aged 3–8 years), but only 6
of 32 population controls
from the same age range (Fisher's test, P<0·001)
and 4 of 10 sibling controls (P<0·05) had
visited (but had not necessarily bathed in) a shallow beach popular among
young children.
Four out of 5 primary cases had remained within 5 m of the beach while
swimming and had
swallowed lake water compared to 1 of 5 population controls. These analytical
epidemiologic
findings incriminated fresh lake water as the vehicle of E. coli
O157[ratio ]H7 transmission.
Automated outbreak detection: a quantitative retrospective
analysis
Authors: STERN L. , LIGHTFOOT D.
Published: July 2002

An automated early warning system has been developed and used for
detecting clusters of
human infection with enteric pathogens. The method used requires no specific
disease
modelling, and has the potential for extension to other epidemiological
applications. A
compound smoothing technique is used to determine baseline ‘normal’
incidence of disease
from past data, and a warning threshold for current data is produced by
combining a
statistically determined increment from the baseline with a fixed minimum
threshold. A
retrospective study of salmonella infections over 3 years has been conducted.
Over this period,
the automated system achieved >90% sensitivity, with a positive predictive
value consistently
>50%, demonstrating the effectiveness of the combination of statistical
and heuristic methods
for cluster detection. We suggest that quantitative measurements are of
considerable utility in
evaluating the performance of such systems.
Sampling considerations for herd-level measurement of faecal
Escherichia coli antimicrobial resistance in finisher pigs
Authors: DUNLOP R. H. , McEWEN S. A. , MEEK A. H. , FRIENDSHIP R. M. , BLACK W. D. , CLARKE R. C.
Published: July 2002

The objective of this study was to determine the most efficient means of sampling faeces of
finisher pigs for accurate and precise farm-level estimates of antimicrobial resistance among
faecal Escherichia coli. Resistance to tetracycline and gentamicin of 8250 isolates of E. coli
from 55 finisher pigs on one farm was measured with a hydrophobic grid membrane filter
method. The between-pig, within-pen component of variance in resistance was large (97·5%),
while between-pen, within-room and between-room components were small (2·5% and 0%,
respectively). Using these resistance data, the abilities of two sampling strategies to estimate
prevalence were modelled with a Monte Carlo ‘bootstrap’ procedure. Compositing faecal
samples from several pigs before testing produced unbiased and precise estimates of prevalence
and is simpler technically than individual animal testing.
Intestinal protozoa in HIV-infected patients in Apulia,
South Italy
Authors: BRANDONISIO O. , MAGGI P. , PANARO M. A. , LISI S. , ANDRIOLA A. , ACQUAFREDDA A. , ANGARANO G.
Published: July 2002

Protozoa are important enteric pathogens in patients with human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) infection. In this study the prevalence of intestinal protozoa in 154 HIV-infected
patients, with or without diarrhoea, in our region (Apulia, South Italy) was evaluated between
December 1993 and February 1998. In the majority of patients CD4+ T cell count was below
200/μl. The overall prevalence of intestinal protozoa was 43/154 (27·92%). Twenty-eight
(43·08%) out of 65 patients with diarrhoea and 15 (16·85%) out of 89 non-diarrhoeic patients
were parasitized. In particular, in the group of 65 patients with diarrhoea the following
protozoa were identified: Cryptosporidium parvum in 14 (21·54%), Blastocystis hominis in 7
(10·77%), microsporidia in 6 (9·23%), Giardia lamblia in 4 (6·15%) and Isospora belli in 1
(1·54%). Three patients were Cryptosporidium parvum-microsporidia co-infected. In patients
without intestinal symptoms, prevalence was 3/89 (3·37%) for Cryptosporidium parvum, 9/89
(10·11%) for Blastocystis hominis, 1/89 (1·12%) for microsporidia and 2/89 (2·25%) for
Giardia lamblia. A significant (P<0·001) correlation was observed between protozoan infection
and the presence of diarrhoea. In particular, Cryptosporidium parvum and microsporidia
infections were significantly (P<0·001) and P=0·046, respectively) associated with diarrhoeal
illness. Moreover, the majority of cases of cryptosporidiosis were first diagnosed in the periods
of heaviest rainfall. Therefore, drinking water contamination may be a possible source of
human infection in our area.
Risk of transmission of tuberculosis among inmates of an
Australian prison
Authors: MacINTYRE C. R. , CARNIE J. , RANDALL M.
Published: July 2002

In a prison in Victoria, Australia, our objectives were contact tracing of inmates and staff at
risk of exposure to an identified index case; and to determine risk factors for prevalent and
incident infection. Inmates and staff who were potentially exposed to the index case were
screened with a Mantoux skin test and a questionnaire. Inmate movements within the prison
were compared to movements of the index case. Logistic regression was used to determine risk
factors for infection. The index case had smear positive, cavitating pulmonary tuberculosis
(TB), which was undiagnosed for 3 months. This was the period of potential exposure. The
prevalence of positive skin test reactions in 190 inmates and staff at the prison was 10%.
Significant predictors of a positive skin test were being an inmate (odds ratio (OR) 15·5), older
age (OR 8·3) and being born overseas (OR 10·7). Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccination,
proximity to the index case in various prison sites, duration of incarceration, number of
incarcerations and number of inmates per cell were not significant. There were three recent skin
test conversions from negative to positive, representing a conversion rate of 3·5%. We did not
find evidence of significant transmission of TB from a single index case. The prevalence of
infection in this Australian prison was lower than published rates in other countries. Better
prison conditions and different demographics of prison inmates in Australia may explain these
differences.
Multiresistant Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 infections of
humans and domestic animals in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
Authors: BESSER T. E. , GOLDOFT M. , PRITCHETT L. C. , KHAKHRIA R. , HANCOCK D. D. , RICE D. H. , GAY J. M. , JOHNSON W. , GAY C. C.
Published: July 2002

Salmonella Typhimurium definitive type 104 with chromosomally encoded resistance to five or
more antimicrobial drugs (R-type ACSSuT+) has been reported increasingly frequently as the
cause of human and animal salmonellosis since 1990. Among animal isolates from the
northwestern United States (NWUS), R-type ACSSuT+ Typhimurium isolates increased
through the early 1990s to comprise 73% of Typhimurium isolates by 1995, but subsequently
decreased to comprise only 30% of isolates during 1998. NWUS S. Typhimurium R-type
ACSSuT+ were consistently (99%) phage typed as DT104 or the closely related DTu302. S.
Typhimurium isolates from cattle with primary salmonellosis, randomly selected from a
national repository, from NWUS were more likely to exhibit R-type ACSSuT+ (19/24, 79%)
compared to isolates from other quadrants (17/71, 24%; P < 0.01). Human patients infected
with R-type ACSSuT+ resided in postal zip code polygons of above average cattle farm
density (P < 0.05), while patients infected with other R-types showed no similar tendency.
Furthermore, humans infected with R-type ACSSuT+ Typhimurium were more likely to
report direct contact with livestock (P < 0.01) than humans infected with other R-types.
Long-term persistence of Coxiella burnetii in the host after primary Q fever
Authors: HARRIS R. J. , STORM P. A. , LLOYD A. , ARENS M. , MARMION B. P.
Published: July 2002

After a primary infection Coxiella burnetii may persist covertly in animals and recrudesce at
parturition to be shed in the products of conception and the milk. Similar latent persistence
and recrudescence occurs in man: namely, infection of placenta, heart valve or mural
endocardium, bone or liver. The numbers of organisms, their viability and cellular form, and
the underlying organ sites of latent infection for the coxiella are obscure. During investigations
of 29 patients with a chronic sequel to acute Q fever, the post-Q fever fatigue syndrome (QFS)
[1–3], sensitive conventional and TaqMan-based PCR revealed low levels of C. burnetii DNA
in blood mononuclear cells (5/29; 17%), thin needle liver biopsies (2/14; 14%) and, notably,
in bone marrow aspirates (13/20; 65%). Irrespective of the ultimate significance of coxiella
persistence for QFS, the detection of C. burnetii genomic DNA in bone marrow several years
after a primary infection unveils a new pathological dimension for Q fever.
Patagial morphology of Draco volans (Reptilia: Agamidae) and the origin of glissant locomotion in flying dragons
Authors: Russell Anthony P. , Dijkstra Luke D.
Published: July 2002

The integrative patagial morphology of Draco volans was examined to elucidate the possible evolutionary pathway of origin of active patagia in the flying dragons and in extinct taxa that are thought to have possessed similarly constructed flight membranes. The area of the patagia and accessory aerodynamic surfaces is compared between Draco volans and Ptychozoon kuhli, a gekkonid with passive patagia. Comparisons of patagial area are also made between selected species of Draco. Scale architecture of the patagium of Draco is described and is related to pertinent aspects of the structure and properties of the integument. The relationships of these characteristics to the morphology of the ribs and their related musculature are emphasized. The overall assessment of these features in relation to patagial form is employed to develop an evolutionary scenario for the origin of active patagia.
Breeding seasons of seabirds at Europa Island (southern Mozambique Channel) in relation to seasonal changes in the marine environment
Authors: Le Corre Matthieu
Published: July 2002

Tropical seabirds have evolved a wide range of breeding regimes to fit with their local environment. The western Indian Ocean shows various oceanic situations, providing opportunities to link variations in breeding phenology with variations of the environment. The breeding seasons of seabirds at Europa Island (Mozambique Channel, western Indian Ocean) are analysed. Three oceanic, tuna‐associated species (the sooty tern Sterna fuscata, the red‐footed booby Sula sula, and Audubon's shearwater Puffinus lherminieri) breed during austral winter (June–October), whereas the red‐tailed tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda breeds during austral summer (November–April). During winter, sea‐surface temperatures are the lowest, subtropical waters are the closest to the island, and long‐line catches of tunas are important. Thermal fronts occur during winter, in relation to the northward shift of subtropical waters. This is known to be favourable to tunas, and I suggest that the winter breeding of sooty terns, red‐footed boobies and Audubon's shearwaters is because of an increase in the abundance of tunas. Geographic variations in the breeding phenology of sooty terns in the western Indian Ocean largely support the hypothesis that sooty terns take advantage of cool subtropical waters, when those waters are within their foraging range. The red‐tailed tropicbird is a solitary forager, not associated with tunas. During the chick‐rearing period, 40% of the mass of food brought to the chicks consists of dolphin‐fishes Coryphaena spp. Those warm water, surface dwelling fishes are known to migrate in relation to sea‐surface temperatures. Seasonal changes in the occurrence or vulnerability of dolphin‐fish in the Mozambique Channel may have favoured a summer breeding regime in red‐tailed tropicbirds at Europa Island. Further studies of the marine life of seabirds are needed to test these hypotheses and to learn more about the foraging ecology of tropical seabirds.
Evidence for the occurrence of rumination‐like behaviour, or merycism, in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus, Goldfuss)
Authors: Logan M.
Published: July 2002

This paper provides the first account of merycism in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), and in doing so, potentially sheds new light on the occurrence and significance of this behaviour in other herbivorous marsupials. Koalas fitted with acoustically sensitive transmitters, to monitor mastication and ingestive behaviour, were also found to make bouts of rhythmic ‘mastication‐like’ noises that were not associated with ingestive feeding events. On average, these bouts consisted of 9.16 ‘mastications’, at an average rate of 1.21 ‘mastications’ per second, and occurred 53.3 times throughout a 24‐h period. Furthermore, bouts were usually preceded by, and always followed by, a series of ‘creaky’, guttural noises that were interpreted as regurgitation and re‐swallowing, respectively. Merycism may allow koalas to periodically re‐masticate gastric digesta, while in a resting position, and thus potentially save energy and increase the extent of food preparation. Consequently, merycism may contribute to the koala's ability to consume a high fibre, poor quality diet.
Acoustic evidence for vowel change in New Zealand English
Authors: Watson Catherine I. , Maclagan Margaret , Harrington Jonathan
Published: July 2002

This study provides acoustic evidence that in the
last 50 years New Zealand English (NZE) has undergone a
substantial vowel shift. Two sets of data are studied:
the Otago corpus, recorded in 1995, and the Mobile Unit
corpus, recorded in 1948. Both corpora have male and female
speakers. The corpora were labeled, accented vowels were
extracted, and formant values were calculated. The results
of the formant analysis from the two corpora are contrasted.
We provide evidence that in NZE /i/ has centralized, /e/
and /æ/ have raised, and the diphthongs /i[inverted e]/
and /e[inverted e]/ have merged. We argue that /i/ changed in
quality not only because of crowding in the front vowel space,
but also because it would be less likely misperceived as
an unaccented vowel (i.e., as [inverted e]).
Earned security, daily stress, and parenting: A comparison of five alternative models
Authors: PHELPS JUNE LICHTENSTEIN , BELSKY JAY , CRNIC KEITH
Published: July 2002

Research suggests that adults who have developed a coherent perspective on their negative,
early attachment relationships (i.e., earned secures) do not reenact poor parenting practices with
their own children. However, no studies have addressed whether earned secures maintain
positive parenting under the pressures of aversive environmental conditions. This study tested
five alternative models that predict how earned secures parent under low and high stress in
comparison to adults who had a positive upbringing (i.e., continuous secures) and adults who
have an incoherent perspective on a troubled childhood (i.e., insecures). Only if earned secures
exhibit effective caregiving under high stress, in comparison to the other security groups, can it
be assumed that they have broken the intergenerational cycle of poor parenting. The Adult
Attachment Interview was used to classify 97 mothers as earned secure, continuous secure, and
insecure. Home observations of parenting and maternal self-reports of daily hassles (our stress
measure) were obtained when children were 27 months old. Planned comparisons revealed that
the diathesis-stress/incoherent present state of mind model most accurately predicted
parenting. Thus, under high stress, the earned secures parented equivalently to the continuous
secures and more positively than the insecures; under low stress no group differences were
obtained. These findings indicate that in a normative sample earned secures break the
intergenerational cycle and exhibit resilient parenting even under high stress conditions.
The effects of stress and trauma on brain and memory: A view
from developmental cognitive neuroscience
Authors: NELSON CHARLES A. , CARVER LESLIE J.
Published: July 2002

Many aspects of brain development depend
on experience. Because the major macro-morphological events of brain development occur over
the first 2–3 years of postnatal life, this time period can be considered both a period of
opportunity as well as a period of vulnerability. In this paper we describe how experience with
stress early in life can have a negative impact on certain aspects of brain development, and
specifically, those neural circuits that underlie memory. We also describe the effects of traumatic
events on the development of the neural basis of memory. In support of our argument, we review
the literature on brain, stress, and memory in the context of development. Based on this review,
we suggest that the developing brain is particularly vulnerable to the harmful physiological
effects of stress, which in turn has the potential to lead to impairments in memory.
Unfortunately, there are few empirical data that directly address this hypothesis. In this context
we offer a number of suggestions for future research.