bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Motion artifact reduction of diffusion‐weighted MRI of the liver: Use of velocity‐compensated diffusion gradients combined with tetrahedral gradients
Authors: Ozaki Masanori , Inoue Yusuke , Miyati Tosiaki , Hata Hirohumi , Mizukami Sinya , Komi Shotaro , Matsunaga Keiji , Woodhams Reiko
Published: September 2012

Purpose:

To assess the effect of motion artifact reduction on the diffusion‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI‐MRI) of the liver, we compared velocity‐compensated DWI (VC‐DWI) and VC‐DWI combined with tetrahedral gradients (t‐VC‐DWI) to conventional DWI (c‐DWI) in the assessment of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of the liver.

Materials and Methods:

In 12 healthy volunteers, the liver was scanned with c‐DWI, VC‐DWI, and t‐VC‐DWI sequences. The signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) and ADC of the liver parenchyma were measured and compared among sequences.

Results:

The image quality was visually better for t‐VC‐DWI than for the others. The SNR for t‐VC‐DWI was significantly higher than that for VC‐DWI (P < 0.05) and comparable to that for c‐DWI. ADCs in both hepatic lobes were significantly lower for t‐VC‐DWI than for c‐DWI (P < 0.01). ADC in the left lobe was significantly lower for VC‐DWI than for c‐DWI (P < 0.01). Although ADC in the left lobe was significantly higher for c‐DWI (P < 0.01), no significant differences in ADCs were found between the right and left lobes for VC‐DWI and t‐VC‐DWI.

Conclusion:

The use of a t‐VC‐DWI sequence enables us to correct ADCs of the liver for artificial elevation due to cardiac motion, with preserved SNR. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2013;37:172–178. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
fMRI of human olfaction at the individual level: Interindividual variability
Authors: Morrot Gil , Bonny Jean‐Marie , Lehallier Benoist , Zanca Michel
Published: September 2012

Purpose:

To determine whether the range of normal variation of human olfactory functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activations in healthy single subjects is compatible with the detection of atypical patterns.

Materials and Methods:

In an event‐related olfactory experiment, the variability of fMRI activation in six bilateral olfactory areas known to be affected in neurodegenerative diseases was measured in a region of interest (ROI) analysis in terms of intensity, localization, and overlap on 51 subjects. fMRI measurements were compared against measurements from a visual experiment performed on 25 subjects.

Results:

Olfaction induced activations with low intensity, high variability, and a 4‐fold lower contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) than vision. Even in the best case (piriform cortex), mean pairwise activation overlap was still less than 40%. None of the olfactory ROIs showed significant activation for all subjects at the permissive threshold of P < 0.001. A gender‐dependent significantly stronger activation was found in the bilateral piriform cortex of male subjects.

Conclusion:

Linking t‐statistics and CNR showed that for all olfactory ROIs, CNR is either near or below the estimated threshold of 0.73 found to be necessary to obtain significant activations. In our experimental conditions the low reliability of olfactory activations should prompt major reservations over using fMRI of human olfaction as a diagnostic tool in single subjects. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2013;37:92–100. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Antecedents and outcomes of employee perceptions of intra‐organizational mobility channels
Authors: Webster Jennica R. , Beehr Terry A.
Published: September 2012

Employees' beliefs about how promotions are awarded within their organizations can have important consequences. We conducted two studies that focus on perceptions of the criteria used to make promotion decisions. In Study 1, we identified two types of perceived promotion criteria, performance‐based and nonperformance‐based. Then we use justice and social exchange theories to develop a model linking employee perceptions of promotion criteria to performance via their relationships with promotional justice and organizational commitment. In a sample of 305 employee–supervisor pairs, we found that both promotional justice and organizational commitment mediated between perceptions of promotion criteria and supervisor rated in‐role and extra‐role performance, and that having received a promotion in the past predicted attributions that promotions were based relatively more on performance or nonperformance criteria. Study 2 further examined the role of promotions themselves in the formation of perceptions of promotion criteria. Drawing from image and attribution theories, we hypothesized that the relationship between having received a promotion or not and perceptions of promotion criteria depends on ego defensiveness. In a sample of 145 employees, we found that those who scored high on ego defensiveness and who had not been promoted were especially likely to attribute promotion decisions to nonperformance criteria. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of leadership consideration and structure on employee perceptions of justice and counterproductive work behavior
Authors: Holtz Brian C. , Harold Crystal M.
Published: September 2012

In this paper, we examine the effects of leadership consideration and structure on two important organizational behavior outcomes: employee perceptions of organizational justice and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). We examine these effects across two studies using multisource data (employees and supervisors in Study 1; employees and coworkers in Study 2). Results reveal that consideration and structure have distinct effects across distributive, procedural, informational, and interpersonal dimensions of justice. Moreover, results suggest that consideration and structure have multiplicative effects on employee CWB. We find the highest levels of CWB among employees of supervisors who exhibit high structure and low consideration. Interestingly, results also suggest that the effects of structure on CWB may be curvilinear (u‐shaped) such that moderate levels of structure are associated with the lowest levels of CWB. We discuss implications for future consideration and structure research as well as managerial practice. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Optimizing the fat and water content of impaction bone allograft
Authors: McKenna Paul B. , Leahy J.J. , Masterson Eric L. , McGloughlin Timothy M.
Published: September 2012

Fresh morselized impacted bone graft usually fails due to shear forces. The presence of fat, water, and marrow particles act as interparticle lubricants, reducing the interlocking of particles and allowing the graft to move more freely. Furthermore, the presence of this incompressible fluid damps and resists compressive forces during impaction, preventing the graft particles from moving into a closer formation. We believe there exists an ideal concentration of fat and water that will maximize resistance to shear forces. We performed mechanical shear testing in vitro on morselized human femoral heads, varying the amount of fat and water to determine their optimum concentrations. Level of fat and water were determined that increased strength by 36% over unaltered bone graft. This is most closely approximated in an operating room by washing and subsequently squeezing the bone graft. Optimizing the fat and water content of bone graft produces a stronger graft that is more resistant to shear stresses, protecting the surgical construct until bone growth can occur. © 2012 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 31: 243–248, 2013
Obligations and Permissions
Authors: Fox Chris
Published: September 2012

Utterances and statements that are concerned with obligations and permissions are known as deontic expressions. They can present something of a challenge when it comes to formalising their meaning and behaviour. The content of these expressions can appear to support entailment relations similar to those of classical propositions, but such behaviour can sometimes lead to counter‐intuitive outcomes. Historically, much of the descriptive work in this area has been philosophical in outlook, concentrating on questions of morality and jurisprudence. Some additional contributions have come from computer science, in part due to the need to specify normative behaviour. There are a number of formal proposals that seek to account for obligations and permissions, such as Standard Deontic Logic. In the literature, there has also been discussion of various conundrums and dilemmas that need to be resolved, such as the Good Samaritan, the Knower, the Gentle Murderer, Contrary to Duty Obligations, Ross's Paradox, Jørgensen's Dilemma, Sartre's Dilemma, and Plato's Dilemma. Despite all this work, there still appears to be no definite consensus about how these kinds of expressions should be analysed, or how all the deontic dilemmas should be resolved. It is possible that obligations themselves, as opposed to their satisfaction criteria, do not directly support a conventional logical analysis. It is also possible that a linguistically informed analysis of obligations and permissions may help to resolve some of the deontic dilemmas, and clarify intuitions about how best to formulate a logic of deontic expressions.
Configurational Fluctuation Effects on Counterion Condensation for a Polyelectrolyte Chain
Authors: Miao Bing , Vilgis Thomas A.
Published: September 2012

We investigate the effects of a polyelectrolyte chain's configurational fluctuations on the counterion condensation theoretically. Starting with a straight‐line configuration where the polyelectrolyte chain is totally stretched, the configurational fluctuations are developed by relaxing the stretch. The amount of relaxation appears as a control parameter for configurational fluctuations in this model. The electrostatic potential generated by the fluctuating polyion is obtained through a perturbation calculation around the straight‐line configuration. Adopting the obtained electrostatic potential and using a two‐phase model calculation, the fraction of condensed counterions in the system is calculated. Effects of the Manning parameter and the fluctuations are discussed. In particular, it is shown that configurational fluctuations lead more counterions to be condensed. These observations can be understood in a transparent way in the model.

magnified image
Global solutions of a radiative and reactive gas with self‐gravitation for higher‐order kinetics
Authors: Qin Xulong , Yao Zheng‐an
Published: September 2012

The existence of global solutions is established for compressible Navier–Stokes equations by taking into account the radiative and reactive processes, when the heat conductivity κ (κ1(1 + θq) ≤ κ ≤ κ2(1 + θq),q ≥ 0), where θ is the temperature. This improves the previous results by enlarging the scope of q including the constant heat conductivity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A nonisothermal phase‐field model for the ferromagnetic transition
Authors: Berti V. , Grandi D.
Published: September 2012

We propose a model for nonisothermal ferromagnetic phase transition based on a phase field approach, in which the phase parameter is related but not identified with the magnetization. The magnetization is split in a paramagnetic and in a ferromagnetic contribution, dependent on a scalar phase parameter and identically null above the Curie temperature. The dynamics of the magnetization below the Curie temperature is governed by the order parameter evolution equation and by a Landau–Lifshitz type equation for the magnetization vector. In the simple situation of a uniaxial magnet, it is shown how the order parameter dynamics reproduces the hysteresis effect of the magnetization. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Thermal dehydrogenation of amorphous silicon deposited on c‐Si: Effect of the substrate temperature during deposition
Authors: de Calheiros Velozo A. , Lavareda G. , Nunes de Carvalho C. , Amaral A.
Published: September 2012

Samples of doped and undoped a‐Si:H were deposited at temperatures ranging from 100 ºC to 350 ºC and then submitted to different dehydrogenation temperatures (from 350 ºC to 550 ºC) and times (from 1 h to 4 h). a‐Si:H films were characterised after deposition through the measurements of specific material parameters such as: the optical gap, the conductivity at 25 ºC, the thermal activation energy of conductivity and its hydrogen content. Hydrogen content was measured after each thermal treatment. Substrate dopant contamination from phosphorus‐doped a‐Si thin films was evaluated by SIMS after complete dehydrogenation and a junction depth of 0.1 mm was obtained. Dehydrogenation results show a strong dependence of the hydrogen content of the as‐deposited film on the deposition temperature. Nevertheless, the dehydrogenation temperature seems to determine the final H content in a way almost independent from the initial content in the sample. H richer films dehydrogenate faster than films with lower hydrogen concentration (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Comparison of electrospray ionisation, atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation and atmospheric pressure photoionisation for the identification of metabolites from labile artemisinin‐based anti‐malarial drugs using a QTRAP® mass spectrometer
Authors: Louw Stefan , Njoroge Mathew , Chigorimbo‐Murefu Nyaradzo , Chibale Kelly
Published: September 2012

RATIONALE

Artemisinin‐based drugs and their metabolites are prone to in‐source fragmentation under atmospheric pressure ionisation mass spectrometry (API‐MS) conditions. To facilitate correct and efficient identification of all possible drug metabolites using full scan MS analyzer methods, stable [M + NH4]+ ions should be produced in the MS source.

METHODS

Using a high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) hybrid triple quadrupole linear ion trap MS system, electrospray ionisation (ESI), atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) and atmospheric pressure photoionisation (APPI) methods were developed for the detection of [M + NH4]+ ions of the test compounds dihydroartemisinin, artemisinin, artemether and artesunic acid. The optimised methods employed ammonium formate buffered HPLC mobile phase in combination with moderate source temperatures (100–200 °C) and showed satisfactorily reduced in‐source fragmentation.

RESULTS

With a full scan MS analyser method for the detection of the in vitro metabolites of the test compounds, the respective performance of the ESI and APCI methods was found to be comparable. ESI generally resulted in less in‐source fragmentation. Incorrect assignment of metabolites resulted from strong in‐source fragmentation of artemether using the APPI method. The most number of metabolites could be detected using ESI in combination with a selective MS analyser method.

CONCLUSIONS

ESI and APCI full scan methods proved to be capable of detecting any drug metabolites present in reasonable concentrations, and are useful when employed in addition to selective scan methods that target low level expected metabolites. APPI can be a valuable alternative for detecting expected metabolites due to good signal‐to‐noise (S/N) ratio. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Joint signal‐labeling optimization under peak power constraint
Authors: Kayhan F. , Montorsi G.
Published: September 2012

In this paper, we introduce a variation of simulated annealing algorithm for optimizing two‐dimensional constellations with finite number of signals by maximizing the symmetric and pragmatic capacity. Our method also allows the joint optimization of constellation and binary labeling when the objective function is the pragmatic capacity. The algorithm can be applied with constraints on both the peak power and the average and peak power of the constellation. The proposed algorithm does not impose any a priori geometrical structure on the constellation and labeling. Here, we provide results only for the peak power constraints and constellations with up to 32 signals. For the symmetric capacity, optimal constellations depend on the signal to noise ratio and match in several cases the amplitude phase shift keying (APSK). On the other hand, for the pragmatic capacity several novel labeling constellation schemes are introduced, showing interesting differences between the two approaches. For modulation schemes with 32 signals, our optimized constellations perform up to 0.6 dB better than the optimized 4+12+16‐APSK used as the digital video broadcasting (DVB‐S2) standard. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Implementing design patterns in Object Teams
Authors: Monteiro Miguel P. , Gomes João
Published: September 2012

This paper presents a study of the support for modularity of Object Teams, an aspect‐oriented language backwards compatible with Java. The study is based on implementations in Object Teams of two complete collections of the Gang‐of‐Four design patterns. An analysis of the implementations is provided, in terms of advantages of Object Teams over Java with respect to modularity, module composition and reuse. We present a systematic comparison with a functionally equivalent collection of implementations in AspectJ, regarding five modularity properties: locality, reusability, composition transparency, (un)pluggability and extensibility. Object Teams yields broadly comparable results in terms of the first four properties. Object Teams yields better results as regards flexible module extensibility, composition at the instance level and enclosing multiple pattern participants into a larger, cohesive module. AspectJ is more successful than Object Teams in the Singleton pattern because of its ability to intercept constructor events. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Managing boundaries in the Web 2.0 classroom
Authors: McEwan Bree
Published: September 2012

This chapter explores the use of social media in the higher education classroom highlighting potential issues for student–faculty boundary management and providing suggestions for praxis.
Vaginal progesterone, cerclage or cervical pessary for preventing preterm birth in asymptomatic singleton pregnant women with a history of preterm birth and a sonographic short cervix
Authors: Alfirevic Z. , Owen J. , Carreras Moratonas E. , Sharp A. N. , Szychowski J. M. , Goya M.
Published: September 2012

Objective

To compare the outcome of pregnancy in cohorts of women with singleton pregnancy and history of preterm birth and sonographic short cervix managed with different treatment protocols, namely cerclage, vaginal progesterone or cervical pessary.

Methods

This was a comparison of three management protocols for women with singleton pregnancy and a high risk of preterm birth because of a prior spontaneous preterm birth before 34 weeks and a shortened cervical length detected by transvaginal ultrasound. The study included 142 women who were initially treated with cerclage (USA), 59 with vaginal progesterone (UK) and 42 with cervical pessary (Spain). Perinatal outcomes were compared between the three cohorts.

Results

There were no statistically significant differences in perinatal losses, neonatal morbidity and preterm births among the three groups, apart from a higher rate of preterm birth before 34 weeks' gestation after treatment with vaginal progesterone in comparison with treatment with cervical pessary (32% vs 12%; relative risk (RR) = 2.70; 95% CI, 1.10–6.67). When only the subgroups of women with cervical length < 25 mm, irrespective of gestational age, were compared, the difference between these two cohorts was not statistically significant (RR = 2.21; 95% CI, 0.83–5.89).

Conclusion

Cerclage, vaginal progesterone and pessary appear to have similar effectiveness as management strategies in women with singleton pregnancy, previous spontaneous preterm birth and short cervix. Direct randomized comparisons of these strategies, or combinations thereof, are needed to determine optimal management.
Love is in the air: olfaction-based mate-odour identification by jumping spiders from the genus Cyrba
Authors: Cerveira Ana M. , Jackson Robert R.
Published: September 2012

Jumping spiders (Salticidae) are known for having good eyesight, but the extent to which they rely on olfaction is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate for the first time that olfactory pheromones are used by two species from the salticid genusCyrba(C. algerinaandC. ocellata). Using a Y-shape olfactometer, we investigated the ability of adult males and females of both species to discriminate between mate and non-mate odour. A hidden spider or a spider’s draglines (no spider present) were used as odour sources. There was no evident response by females of eitherCyrbaspecies to any tested odour. Males of both species chose odour from conspecific females, or their draglines, significantly more often than the no-odour control, but there was no evident response by males to any of the other odours (conspecific male and heterospecific female). Our findings demonstrate thatC. algerinaandC. ocellatamales can make sex- and species-specific discriminations even when restricted to using olfaction alone. Also, by showing that draglines can be a source of olfactory pheromones, our findings illustrate the difficulty of ruling out olfaction when attempting to test for chemotactile cues.
Trauma and suicidality in war affected communities
Authors: Jankovic J. , Bremner S. , Bogic M. , Lecic-Tosevski D. , Ajdukovic D. , Franciskovic T. , Galeazzi G.M. , Kucukalic A. , Morina N. , Popovski M. , Schützwohl M. , Priebe S.
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The aim was to assess whether experiences of war trauma remain directly associated with suicidality in war affected communities when other risk factors are considered.

Materials and methods

In the main sample 3313 participants from former Yugoslavia who experienced war trauma were recruited using a random sampling in five Balkan countries. In the second sample 854 refugees from former Yugoslavia recruited through registers and networking in three Western European countries. Sociodemographic and data on trauma exposure, psychiatric diagnoses and level of suicidality were assessed.

Results

In the main sample 113 participants (3.4%) had high suicidality, which was associated with number of potentially traumatic war experiences (odds ratio 1.1) and war related imprisonment (odds ratio 3) once all measured risk factors were considered. These associations were confirmed in the refugee sample with a higher suicidality rate (10.2%).

Discussion and conclusions

Number of potentially traumatic war experiences, in particular imprisonment, may be considered as a relevant risk factor for suicidality in people affected by war.
Prevalence of high‐risk HPV and associated risk factors in cases of cervical carcinoma in Tamil Nadu, India
Authors: Vinodhini Krishnakumar , Shanmughapriya Santhanam , Sanmugham Sumathy , Senthikumar Ganesan , Das Bhudev C. , Natarajaseenivasan Kalimuthusamy
Published: September 2012

Objective

To assess the prevalence of HPV infection among women with cervical cancer in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India.

Methods

A case–control study was conducted with 246 women with cervical cancer and 257 control participants aged between 20 and 70 years. The presence of HPV DNA was determined using the MY09/11 PCR protocol, the GP5+/6+ PCR protocol, and type‐specific PCR‐based assays.

Results

The overall HPV prevalence was 54.9% and HPV 16 was the most prevalent type. The women the most vulnerable for HPV infection were those aged 41 to 60 years. The major contributing risk factors for cervical cancer were having had 3 or more pregnancies (OR 19.2; 95% CI, 10.78–10.16); harboring high‐risk HPV DNA (OR 15.3; 95% CI, 9.81–23.8); being a manual worker (OR 14.9; 95% CI, 9.62–23.08); being illiterate (OR 8.28; 95% CI, 5.51–12.43); and having never been screened for cervical dysplasia (OR 6.70; 95% CI, 10.78–34.44).

Conclusion

The present report on the overall and type‐specific prevalence rates and risk burden of HPV infection in Tamil Nadu confirms that screening and vaccination programs are urgently needed in this state to overcome the burden of HPV‐associated cervical cancer.
Outcomes of traditional prolapse surgery for pelvic organ prolapse repair at a single center
Authors: Fukuda Takeshi , Sumi Toshiyuki , Yasui Tomoyo , Koyama Masayasu , Ishiko Osamu
Published: September 2012

Objective

To evaluate the clinical outcomes of traditional surgical approaches to pelvic organ prolapse.

Methods

From January 20, 2000, to March 24, 2009, 182 patients underwent traditional prolapse surgery at Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan, after prolapse assessment by the pelvic organ prolapse quantification system. Incontinence, defined as more than 2 g of urine leaked in a 1‐hour pad test; posterior urethrovesical angle, using chain cystography; and quality of life (QOL), using a face visual analog scale, were assessed 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively, and then annually for 2 more years, in the 167 patients who completed follow‐up. The presence of lower urinary tract symptoms was determined preoperatively and postoperatively.

Results

The anatomic and subjective recurrence rates were 21.0% and 6.0%. There was a significant difference in time to recurrence between anatomic and subjective prolapse. The posterior urethrovesical angle was improved postoperatively. The prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms was 67.1% preoperatively and decreased to 28.2%, 17.2%, 16.2%, 15.6%, and 15.6% at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years, respectively, and QOL was improved postoperatively regardless of anatomic recurrence.

Conclusion

Anatomic support and QOL were satisfactory after traditional prolapse surgery.
The protective effect of Ginkgo biloba extract against experimental cisplatin ototoxicity: animal research using distortion product otoacoustic emissions
Authors: Cakil B , Basar F Suren , Atmaca S , Cengel S Kurnaz , Tekat A , Tanyeri Y
Published: September 2012

Background:

Cisplatin, an effective therapeutic agent for various human cancers, has dose-limiting side effects of ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Cisplatin ototoxicity is thought to result from increased amounts of toxic free radicals or cell membrane changes leading to increased intracellular calcium content. Ginkgo biloba extract prevents lipid peroxidation, decreases intracellular free oxygen radical levels, regulates the cell membrane calcium transport mechanism and prevents cell death. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of Ginkgo biloba extract against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in rats.

Methods:

Twenty Wistar albino rats with normal hearing (confirmed by distortion product otoacoustic emission testing prior to cisplatin application) were randomly allocated to two groups. Both groups received a single intraperitoneal dose of cisplatin (12 mg/kg). Group two also received daily intraperitoneal doses of Ginkgo biloba extract (100 mg/kg) for 10 days. Distortion product otoacoustic emission measurements were repeated on days 10 and 17 and signal-to-noise ratios were compared.

Results:

Compared with group one, group two had significantly better distortion product otoacoustic emission results at 3, 4, 6 and 8 kHz on days 10 and 17.

Conclusion:

These findings suggest that Ginkgo biloba extract protects the inner ear against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity.
ATTITUDES AND BARRIERS TOWARD MINI-HTA IN THE DANISH MUNICIPALITIES
Authors: Ehlers Lars , Jensen Morten Berg
Published: September 2012

Background: In 2008 the Danish National Board of Health launched an information campaign aimed at introducing mini-HTA as a management and decision support tool for the municipalities. Today (January 2012), mini-HTA is still not used regularly in the municipalities.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the latent attitudes toward mini-HTA among ninety-three participants in five voluntary workshops on mini-HTA held in the period of May 2008 to February 2009.

Methods: In a questionnaire including three open questions respondents were asked to state their perception of what mini-HTA could be used for in the municipality, the main barriers for using mini-HTA, and what could make it easier to implement mini-HTA. Answers were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using binary coding and statistical examination of patterns in form of R-factor analysis.

Results: The four significant latent attitudes were a general acceptance of HTA-principles, a derived need for a political/managerial decision to use mini-HTA in the municipality, worries about barriers in the medium run, and worries about barriers in the short run.

Conclusions: A national information campaign to support the uptake of mini-HTA in local health-care institutions was insufficient in the Danish municipalities and should have been supplemented with a strategy to secure local political/managerial willingness to use mini-HTA and the removal of short- and medium-term barriers. The implementation of local HTA should not just be seen as a question of how to increase the use of evidence in decision-making, but as a matter of reforming local decision processes.
ANALYZING 10 YEARS OF EARLY AWARENESS AND ALERT ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Authors: Packer Claire , Fung Matthew , Stevens Andrew
Published: September 2012

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of the English National Horizon Scanning Centre (NHSC) in identifying and filtering pharmaceutical developments using end user and international collaborator databases of emerging technologies as proxies for new drugs of likely significance to health services and/or patients.

Methods: We used the NHSC information system and the list of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals to estimate the false positive rate for NHSC identification, filtration, and reporting. We assessed the sensitivity of NHSC identification and filtration of pharmaceuticals for NICE technology appraisals from 1999 to the end of December 2010, and for pharmaceuticals entered into the EuroScan International Network database.

Results: We estimate that overall NHSC identification, filtration and reporting had a positive predictive value of 0.39 (95 percent CI, 0.36 to 0.43) and a false positive rate of 60 percent. Using NICE appraisals and EuroScan's database as proxies for pharmaceuticals of significance, we estimate the NHSC sensitivity over the 10-year period at 0.92 (95 percent CI, 0.89 to 0.95) and 0.89 (95 percent CI, 0.82 to 0.96) respectively.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that the NHSC has performed well in terms of sensitivity over the past decade, but that the false positive rate of 60 percent may indicate that the filtration criteria for pharmaceuticals could be tightened for increased efficiency. Future evaluations of EAA systems should include an element of external review and explore the level of accuracy acceptable to funders and customers of such systems.
EARLY AWARENESS AND ALERT ACTIVITIES IN LATIN AMERICA: CURRENT SITUATION IN FOUR COUNTRIES
Authors: Pichon-Riviere Andres , Silva Elias Flávia Tavares , Rivero Verónica Gallegos , Vaca Claudia P.
Published: September 2012

Objectives: The aim of this study was to briefly describe the current state of early awareness and alert (EAA) activities and systems in four Latin-American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico).

Methods: Key informants were selected and completed an open questionnaire that included the following domains: current state of EAA activities and systems in each country, potential role for EAA systems in the health system, and future EAA projects that are currently being considered.

Results: In all four countries, health technology assessment (HTA) processes are used to prioritize the use of health resources, albeit at varying degrees and with different mechanisms and methodologies. EAA activities are still limited and there are virtually no institutions or units with specific functions explicitly devoted to EAA activity. However, most countries have developed some initial forms of EAA systems. Being in its initial stages there is no clear differentiation between these early awareness activities and other HTA functions, and no specific methodologies or processes are used to anticipate the emergence of new technologies. Consequently, early evaluation of technologies generally occurs in a reactive manner, after they have been introduced in the market and under the pressure of different stakeholders.

Conclusions: There is growing awareness that the early identification and assessment of emerging technologies should be an integral part of HTA and the decision-making process. Many initiatives are currently focusing on building partnerships between the various regulatory bodies involved in the incorporation of technologies at national levels. It is reasonable to foresee that EAA activities will continue to develop and expand in the region.
ROMIPLOSTIM AND ELTROMBOPAG FOR IMMUNE THROMBOCYTOPENIA: METHODS FOR INDIRECT COMPARISON
Authors: Cooper Katy L. , Fitzgerald Patrick , Dillingham Kerry , Helme Kawitha , Akehurst Ron
Published: September 2012

Objectives:Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) causes increased platelet destruction and suboptimal platelet production, increasing risk of bleeding. This analysis uses a Bayesian metaregression model to indirectly compare effectiveness of the thrombopoietin mimetics romiplostim and eltrombopag for increasing platelet counts, and contrasts the results with those of non-Bayesian approaches.

Methods:Ten databases were searched during 2010. Placebo-controlled trials of 24 weeks’ duration were included. An indirect comparison was undertaken using Bayesian metaregression, which includes all trials in a single model. This was compared with previous analyses in which data for each intervention were combined using simple pooling, logistic regression or meta-analysis, followed by indirect comparison of pooled values using the Bucher method.

Results:Two trials of romiplostim and one of eltrombopag were included. The indirect evidence suggests romiplostim significantly improves overall platelet response compared with eltrombopag. Bayesian metaregression gave an odds ratio (OR) for eltrombopag versus romiplostim of 0.11 (95 percent credible interval 0.02–0.66);pvalues and Bayesian posterior probabilities ranged from 0.01 to 0.05 for all analyses. There was no significant difference in durable platelet response in any of the analyses, although the direction of effect favored romiplostim (OR = 0.15; 95 percent credible interval, 0.01–1.88);pvalues and Bayesian posterior probabilities ranged from 0.08 to 0.40 across analyses. Results were relatively consistent between analyses.

Conclusions:Bayesian metaregression generated similar results to other indirect comparison methods, and may be considered the most robust as it incorporates all data in a single model and accounts appropriately for parameter uncertainty.
The European Council and the national executives: segmentation, consolidation and legitimation
Authors: DN  , JHR  , TV
Published: September 2012

Of the three branches of government traditionally distinguished since Montesquieu, two have received ample scholarly attention in their relation with the European Union. A plethora of books and articles have been written on the role and position of national courts and national parliaments in Europe. As to the former, the interaction of national courts with the Court of Justice of the European Union is still massively researched. As to the latter, it has been thoroughly analysed how national parliaments were sidelined from the start of the integration process, only to regain lost ground later. In particular, attempts to include the national parliaments in EU decision-making, via the renewed Subsidiarity Protocol among other ways, have attracted numerous research activities.
Rapid Naming by Children With and Without Specific Language Impairment
Authors: Coady Jeffry A.
Published: September 2012

Purpose

Previous studies have reported that children with specific language impairment (SLI) name pictures more slowly than do chronological age–matched (CAM) peers. Rapid naming depends on 2 factors known to be problematic for children with SLI—lexical retrieval and nonlinguistic speed of processing. Although all studies implicate a speed-of-processing deficit as a contributing factor, researchers do not agree on the influence of language factors. The purpose of the current study was to explore word frequency (WF) and phonotactic pattern frequency (PPF) as potential lexical factors contributing to the naming deficits experienced by children with SLI.

Method

Three groups of children—20 children with SLI (
M
age
= 9;8 [years;months]), 20 younger vocabulary-matched (VM) controls, and 20 CAM controls—named pictures whose labels varied by WF and PPF.

Results

Reaction time results revealed significant main effects of group (CAM < SLI = VM) and WF (high WF < low WF). Effects due to WF were comparable for all groups, but a significant Group × PPF interaction revealed that PPF effects were greater for children with SLI than for VM or CAM children.

Conclusion

Results replicate previous findings of a naming deficit in children with SLI. Furthermore, results suggest that children with SLI are more vulnerable to increased competition from words with frequent phonotactic patterns, which also come from dense phonological neighborhoods.
Sentence Comprehension in Specific Language Impairment: A Task Designed to Distinguish Between Cognitive Capacity and Syntactic Complexity
Authors: Leonard Laurence B. , Deevy Patricia , Fey Marc E. , Bredin-Oja Shelley L.
Published: September 2012

Purpose

This study examined sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI) in a manner designed to separate the contribution of cognitive capacity from the effects of syntactic structure.

Method

Nineteen children with SLI, 19 typically developing children matched for age (TD-A), and 19 younger typically developing children (TD-Y) matched according to sentence comprehension test scores responded to sentence comprehension items that varied in either length or their demands on cognitive capacity, based on the nature of the foils competing with the target picture.

Results

The TD-A children were accurate across all item types. The SLI and TD-Y groups were less accurate than the TD-A group on items with greater length and, especially, on items with the greatest demands on cognitive capacity. The types of errors were consistent with failure to retain details of the sentence apart from syntactic structure.

Conclusions

The difficulty in the more demanding conditions seemed attributable to interference. Specifically, the children with SLI and the TD-Y children appeared to have difficulty retaining details of the target sentence when the information reflected in the foils closely resembled the information in the target sentence.
Thermochemistry of radicals formed by hydrogen abstraction from 1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, and butanal
Authors: Papajak Ewa , Seal Prasenjit , Xu Xuefei , Truhlar Donald G.
Published: September 2012

We calculate the standard state entropy, heat capacity, enthalpy, and Gibbs free energy for 13 radicals important for the combustion chemistry of biofuels. These thermochemical quantities are calculated from recently proposed methods for calculating partition functions of complex molecules by taking into account their multiple conformational structures and torsional anharmonicity. The radicals considered in this study are those obtained by hydrogen abstraction from 1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, and butanal. Electronic structure calculations for all conformers of the radicals were carried out using both density functional theory and explicitly correlated coupled cluster theory with quasipertubative inclusion of connected triple excitations. The heat capacity and entropy results are compared with sparsely available group additivity data, and trends in enthalpy and free energy as a function of radical center are discussed for the isomeric radicals.
Terahertz and far-infrared synchrotron spectroscopy and global modeling of methyl mercaptan, CH332SH
Authors: Xu Li-Hong , Lees R. M. , Crabbe G. T. , Myshrall J. A. , Müller H. S. P. , Endres C. P. , Baum O. , Lewen F. , Schlemmer S. , Menten K. M. , Billinghurst B. E.
Published: September 2012

In this work, terahertz and Fourier transform far-infrared (FTFIR) synchrotron spectra of methyl mercaptan, CH3SH, have been investigated in order to provide new laboratory information for enhanced observations of this species in interstellar molecular clouds and star-forming regions. Like its methanol cousin, methyl mercaptan has particularly rich spectra associated with its large-amplitude internal rotation that extend throughout the THz and FIR regions. We have recorded new spectra for CH3SH from 1.1-1.5 and 1.790–1.808 THz at the University of Cologne as well as high-resolution FTFIR synchrotron spectra from 50-550 cm−1 at 0.001 cm−1 resolution on the far-IR beam-line at the Canadian Light Source. Assignments are reported for rotational quantum numbers up to J ≈ 40 and K ≈ 15, and torsional states up to vt = 2 for the THz measurements and vt = 3 for the FTFIR observations. The THz and FTFIR measurements together with literature results have been combined in a global analysis of a dataset comprising a total of 1725 microwave and THz frequencies together with ∼18000 FTFIR transitions, ranging up to vt = 2 and Jmax = 30 for MW/THz and 40 for FTFIR. The global fit employs 78 torsion-rotation parameters and has achieved a weighted standard deviation of ∼1.1. A prediction list (vt ≤ 2, J ≤ 45 and K ≤ 20) has been generated from the model giving essentially complete coverage of observable CH332SH transitions within the bandwidths of major new astronomical facilities such as HIFI (Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared) on the Herschel Space Observatory, ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array), SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy) and APEX (Atacama Pathfinder Experiment) to close to spectroscopic accuracy.
Anisotropy in the dielectric spectrum of hydration water and its relation to water dynamics
Authors: Gekle Stephan , Netz Roland R.
Published: September 2012

Proteins, molecules, and macromolecular assemblies in water are surrounded by a nanometer-sized hydration layer with properties very different from bulk water. Here, we use classical molecular dynamics simulations to study the dielectric response of hydration water next to hydrophobic and hydrophilic planar surfaces. We find the interfacial dielectric absorption of water to be strongly anisotropic: compared to bulk water, which shows a broad dielectric absorption maximum around 15 GHz in the imaginary part of the dielectric function, the absorption for electric fields parallel to the surface is of similar strength and shows a slight redshift, while for perpendicular electric fields it is strongly attenuated and blueshifted. This anisotropy is generic for hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. From our spatially resolved dielectric functions and a modified Maxwell-Garnett theory that accounts for anisotropic hydration layers around spherical particles, the dielectric absorption of solutions of organic molecules and micelles is derived to exhibit the experimentally known attenuation in combination with a redshift. These two features are traced back to the subtle interplay of interfacial depolarization effects and the dielectric anisotropy in the hydration layer. By a detailed analysis of the individual water molecule dynamics the perpendicular blueshift is shown not to be linked to accelerated water reorientation, but rather to dielectric boundary effects. Carefully conducted angularly resolved experiments at planar aqueous interfaces will be able to resolve this dielectric anisotropy and thus to confirm the subtle connection between spectral absorption features and the molecular water dynamics in hydration layers.
Effect of the thickness of the MoO3 layers on optical properties of MoO3/Ag/MoO3 multilayer structures
Authors: Nguyen D.-T. , Vedraine S. , Cattin L. , Torchio P. , Morsli M. , Flory F. , Bernède J. C.
Published: September 2012

The electrical and optical properties of MoO3/Ag/MoO3 multilayer structures have been studied using the Ag deposition rate and layer thicknesses as parameters. When the silver film is deposited at 0.20 nm/s rate, the silver layer thickness necessary to achieve the percolation threshold of the resistivity ρ towards conductive structures is 10 nm. Below 10 nm, the films are semiconductor and above the films are conductors. In the present work, the variation of the thicknesses of top and bottom MoO3 layers is shown to strongly modify the optical properties of the multilayer structures. By using a Ag thickness of 10 nm, we demonstrate an increasing of the transmittance of the MoO3/Ag/MoO3 structures by optimizing the MoO3 layers thicknesses. When the MoO3 bottom layer is 20 nm thick, and the MoO3 top layer is 35 nm, the maximum transmission is 86% at the wavelength of 465 nm, while the averaged transmission in the visible range (350 nm–800 nm) is 70%. The best measured conductivity, σ = 1.1 × 105 (Ω cm)−1, corresponds also to this MoO3 (20 nm)/Ag (10 nm)/MoO3 (35 nm) structure. A good qualitative agreement between the theoretical calculations of the variation of the optical transmittance and reflectance of the MoO3/Ag/MoO3 structures is also highlighted.
An adaptive prototype design to maximize power harvesting using electrostrictive polymers
Authors: Meddad M. , Eddiai A. , Guyomar D. , Belkhiat S. , Cherif A. , Yuse K. , Hajjaji A.
Published: September 2012

The harvesting energy with electrostrictive polymers has great potential for remote applications such as invivo sensors, embedded micro-electro-mechanical systems devices, and distributed network instruments. A majority of current research activities in this field refers to classical piezoelectric ceramics, but electrostrictive polymers offer promise of energy harvesting with few moving parts; power can be produced by simply stretching and contracting a relatively low-cost rubbery material. The use of such polymers for energy harvesting is a growing field, which has great potential from an energy density viewpoint. The output power is inversely proportional to the harvester's frequency bandwidth. Consequently, it is much harder to efficiently harvest power from low-frequency sources with a large frequency band response and with a very small system size than from a stabilized high-frequency vibration source. This paper presents a new structure that is able to predict mechanical frequency excitation in order to increase power-harvesting capabilities of electrostrictive polymers. An equivalent structure scheme has been developed by using current and electrical schemes models. With a transverse strain of 0.5% and a bias field of 10 V/μm, such a process rendered it possible to increase the converted power by 80% with a low-frequency mechanical excitation. This study contributes to provide a framework for developing an innovative energy-harvesting technology that collects vibrations from the environment and converts them into electricity to power a variety of sensors.