bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tensorial hydrodynamic slip
Authors: BAZANT MARTIN Z. , VINOGRADOVA OLGA I.
Published: October 2008

We describe a tensorial generalization of the Navier slip boundary condition and illustrate its use in solving for flows around anisotropic textured surfaces. Tensorial slip can be derived from molecular or microstructural theories or simply postulated as a constitutive relation, subject to certain general constraints on the interfacial mobility. The power of the tensor formalism is to capture complicated effects of surface anisotropy, while preserving a simple fluid domain. This is demonstrated by exact solutions for laminar shear flow and pressure-driven flow between parallel plates of arbitrary and different textures. From such solutions, the effects of rotating a texture follow from simple matrix algebra. Our results may be useful for extracting local slip tensors from global measurements, such as the permeability of a textured channel or the force required to move a patterned surface, in experiments or simulations.
Detailed analytical investigation of magnetic field line random walk in turbulent plasmas: II. Isotropic turbulence
Authors: KOURAKIS I. , TAUTZ R. C. , SHALCHI A.
Published: October 2008

The random walk of magnetic field lines in the presence of magnetic turbulence in plasmas is investigated from first principles. An isotropic model is employed for the magnetic turbulence spectrum. An analytical investigation of the asymptotic behavior of the field-line mean-square displacement 〈(Δx)2〉 is carried out, in terms of the position variablez. It is shown that 〈(Δx)2〉 varies as ~zlnzfor large distancez. This result corresponds to a superdiffusive behavior of field line wandering. This investigation complements previous work, which relied on a two-component model for the turbulence spectrum. Contrary to that model, quasilinear theory appears to provide an adequate description of the field-line random walk for isotropic turbulence.
Language as shaped by the brain
Authors: Christiansen Morten H. , Chater Nick
Published: October 2008

It is widely assumed that human learning and the structure of human languages are intimately related. This relationship is frequently suggested to derive from a language-specific biological endowment, which encodes universal, but communicatively arbitrary, principles of language structure (a Universal Grammar or UG). How might such a UG have evolved? We argue that UG could not have arisen either by biological adaptation or non-adaptationist genetic processes, resulting in alogical problem of language evolution. Specifically, as the processes of language change are much more rapid than processes of genetic change, language constitutes a “moving target” both over time and across different human populations, and, hence, cannot provide a stable environment to which language genes could have adapted. We conclude that a biologically determined UG is not evolutionarily viable. Instead, the original motivation for UG – the mesh between learners and languages – arises because language has been shaped to fit the human brain, rather than vice versa. Following Darwin, we view language itself as a complex and interdependent “organism,” which evolves under selectional pressures from human learning and processing mechanisms. That is, languages themselves are shaped by severe selectional pressure from each generation of language users and learners. This suggests that apparently arbitrary aspects of linguistic structure may result from general learning and processing biases deriving from the structure of thought processes, perceptuo-motor factors, cognitive limitations, and pragmatics.
Language is shaped by the body
Authors: Aronoff Mark , Meir Irit , Padden Carol , Sandler Wendy
Published: October 2008

Sign languages provide direct evidence for the relation between human languages and the body that engenders them. We discuss the use of the hands to create symbols and the role of the body in sign language verb systems, especially in two quite recently developed sign languages, Israeli Sign Language and Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language.
Languages as evolving organisms –Thesolution to the logical problem of language evolution?
Authors: Behme Christina
Published: October 2008

Christiansen & Chater (C&C) argue persuasively that Universal Grammar (UG) could not have arisen through evolutionary processes. I provide additional suggestions to strengthen the argument against UG evolution. Further, I suggest that C&C's solution to the logical problem of language evolution faces several problems. Widening the focus to mechanisms of general cognition and inclusion of animal communication research might overcome these problems.
Prolonged plasticity: Necessary and sufficient for language-ready brains
Authors: Brooks Patricia J. , Ragir Sonia
Published: October 2008

Languages emerge in response to the negotiation of shared meaning in social groups, where transparency of grammar is necessitated by demands of communication with relative strangers needing to consult on a wide range of topics (Ragir 2002). This communal exchange is automated and stabilized through activity-dependent fine-tuning of information-specific neural connections during postnatal growth and social development.
Convergent cultural evolution may explain linguistic universals
Authors: Caldwell Christine A.
Published: October 2008

Christiansen & Chater's (C&C's) argument rests on an assumption that convergent cultural evolution can produce similar (complex) behaviours in isolated populations. In this commentary, I describe how experiments recently carried out by Caldwell and colleagues can contribute to the understanding of such phenomena.
Brain and behavior: Which way does the shaping go?
Authors: Catania A. Charles
Published: October 2008

Evolutionary contingencies select organisms based on what they can do; brains and other evolved structures serve their behavior. Arguments that brains drive language structure get the direction wrong; with functional issues unacknowledged, interactions between central structures and periphery are overlooked. Evidence supports a peripherally driven central organization. If language modules develop like other brain compartments, then environmental consistencies can engender both structural and functional language units (e.g., the different phonemic, semantic, and grammatical structures of different languages).
Time on our hands: How gesture and the understanding of the past and future helped shape language
Authors: Corballis Michael C.
Published: October 2008

Recognising that signed languages are true languages adds to the variety of forms that languages can take. Such recognition also allows one to differentiate those aspects of language that depend on the medium (voiced or signed) from those that depend on more cognitive aspects. At least some aspects of language, such as symbolic representation, time markers, and generativity, may derive from the communication of the products of mental time travel, and from the sharing of remembered past and planned future episodes.
Why is language well designed for communication?
Authors: Dessalles Jean-Louis
Published: October 2008

Selection through iterated learning explains no more than other non-functional accounts, such as Universal Grammar (UG), why language is so well designed for communicative efficiency. It does not predict several distinctive features of language, such as central embedding, large lexicons, or the lack of iconicity, which seem to serve communication purposes at the expense of learnability.
Universal Grammar? Or prerequisites for natural language?
Authors: Goldberg Adele E.
Published: October 2008

This commentary aims to highlight what exactly is controversial about the traditional Universal Grammar (UG) hypothesis and what is not. There is widespread agreement that we are not born “blank slates,” that language universals exist, that grammar exists, and that adults have domain-specific representations of language. The point of contention is whether we should assume that there exist unlearned syntactic universals that are arbitrary and specific to Language.
Niche-construction, co-evolution, and domain-specificity
Authors: Hurford James R.
Published: October 2008

That language is shaped to fit the human brain is close to the Chomskyan position. The target article by Christiansen & Chater (C&C) assumes an entity, “(the) language,” outside individual heads. What is the nature of this entity? Linguistic niche-construction and co-evolution of language and genes are possible, with some of what evolved being language-specific. Recent generative theory postulates much less than the old Universal Grammar (UG).
Language enabled by Baldwinian evolution of memory capacity
Authors: Landauer Thomas K.
Published: October 2008

The claim that language is shaped by the brain is weakened by lack of clear specification of what necessary and sufficient properties the brain actually imposes. To account for human intellectual superiority, it is proposed that language did require special brain evolution (Deacon 1997), but that what evolved was a merely quantitative change – in representation space – rather than a radically new invention.
Cortical-striatal-cortical neural circuits, reiteration, and the “narrow faculty of language”
Authors: Lieberman Philip
Published: October 2008

Neural circuits linking local operations in the cortex and the basal ganglia confer reiterative capacities, expressed in seemingly unrelated human traits such as speech, syntax, adaptive actions to changing circumstances, dancing, and music. Reiteration allows the formation of a potentially unbounded number of sentences from a finite set of syntactic processes, obviating the need for the hypothetical “Narrow Faculty of Language.”
Perceptual-motor constraints on sound-to-meaning correspondence in language
Authors: Namy Laura L. , Nygaard Lynne C.
Published: October 2008

The proposal that language has evolved to conform to general cognitive and learning constraints inherent in the human brain calls for specification of these mechanisms. We propose that just as cognition appears to be grounded in cross-modal perceptual-motor capabilities, so too must language. Evidence for perceptual-motor grounding comes from non-arbitrary sound-to-meaning correspondences and their role in word learning.
Language as ergonomic perfection
Authors: Piattelli-Palmarini Massimo , Hancock Roeland , Bever Thomas
Published: October 2008

Christiansen & Chater (C&C) have taken the interactionist approach to linguistic universals to an extreme, adopting the metaphor of language as an organism. This metaphor adds no insights to five decades of analyzing language universals as the result of interaction of linguistically unique and general cognitive systems. This metaphor is also based on an outmoded view of classical Darwinian evolution and has no clear basis in biology or cognition.
On language and evolution: Why neo-adaptationism fails
Authors: Reuland Eric
Published: October 2008

I identify a number of problematic aspects of Christiansen & Chater's (C&C's) contribution. These include their suggestion that subjacency and binding reflect non-domain-specific mechanisms; that proto-language is a “cultural product”; and that non-adaptationism requires overly rich innate structures, and is incompatible with acceptable evolutionary processes. It shows that a fully UG (Universal Grammar)-free version of the authors' neo-adaptationism would be incoherent.
Language acquisition recapitulates language evolution?
Authors: Satterfield Teresa
Published: October 2008

Christiansen & Chater (C&C) focus solely on general-purpose cognitive processes in their elegant conceptualization of language evolution. However, numerous developmental facts attested in L1 acquisition confound C&C's subsequent claim that the logical problem of language acquisition now plausibly recapitulates that of language evolution. I argue that language acquisition should be viewed instead as a multi-layered construction involving the interplay of general and domain-specific learning mechanisms.
The brain plus the cultural transmission mechanism determine the nature of language
Authors: Smith Kenny , Kirby Simon , Smith Andrew D. M.
Published: October 2008

We agree that language adapts to the brain, but we note that language also has to adapt to brain-external constraints, such as those arising from properties of the cultural transmission medium. The hypothesis that Christiansen & Chater (C&C) raise in the target article not only has profound consequences for our understanding of language, but also for our understanding of the biological evolution of the language faculty.
Case-marking systems evolve to be easy to learn and process
Authors: Tallerman Maggie
Published: October 2008

Christiansen & Chater (C&C) suggest that language is itself an evolutionary system, and that natural languages “evolve” to be easy to learn and process. The tight economy of the world's case-marking systems lends support to this hypothesis. Only two major case systems occur, cross-linguistically, and noun phrases are seldom overtly case-marked wherever zero-marking would be functionally practical.
Language as shaped by the brain; the brain as shaped by development
Authors: Toscano Joseph C. , Perry Lynn K. , Mueller Kathryn L. , Bean Allison F. , Galle Marcus E. , Samuelson Larissa K.
Published: October 2008

Though we agree with their argument that language is shaped by domain-general learning processes, Christiansen & Chater (C&C) neglect to detail how the development of these processes shapes language change. We discuss a number of examples that show how developmental processes at multiple levels and timescales are critical to understanding the origin of domain-general mechanisms that shape language evolution.
Language is shaped for social interactions, as well as by the brain
Authors: Wallentin Mikkel , Frith Chris D.
Published: October 2008

Language learning is not primarily driven by a motivation to describe invariant features of the world, but rather by a strong force to be a part of the social group, which by definition is not invariant. It is not sufficient for language to be fit for the speaker's perceptual motor system. It must also be fit for social interactions.
Brains, genes, and language evolution: A new synthesis
Authors: Christiansen Morten H. , Chater Nick
Published: October 2008

Our target article argued that a genetically specified Universal Grammar (UG), capturing arbitrary properties of languages, is not tenable on evolutionary grounds, and that the close fit between language and language learners arises because language is shaped by the brain, rather than the reverse. Few commentaries defend a genetically specified UG. Some commentators argue that we underestimate the importance of processes of cultural transmission; some propose additional cognitive and brain mechanisms that may constrain language and perhaps differentiate humans from nonhuman primates; and others argue that we overstate or understate the case against co-evolution of language genes. In engaging with these issues, we suggest that a new synthesis concerning the relationship between brains, genes, and language may be emerging.
Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms
Authors: Juslin Patrik N. , Västfjäll Daniel
Published: October 2008

Research indicates that people value music primarily because of the emotions it evokes. Yet, the notion of musical emotions remains controversial, and researchers have so far been unable to offer a satisfactory account of such emotions. We argue that the study of musical emotions has suffered from a neglect of underlying mechanisms. Specifically, researchers have studied musical emotions without regard to how they were evoked, or have assumed that the emotions must be based on the “default” mechanism for emotion induction, a cognitive appraisal. Here, we present a novel theoretical framework featuring six additional mechanisms through which music listening may induce emotions: (1) brain stem reflexes, (2) evaluative conditioning, (3) emotional contagion, (4) visual imagery, (5) episodic memory, and (6) musical expectancy. We propose that these mechanisms differ regarding such characteristics as their information focus, ontogenetic development, key brain regions, cultural impact, induction speed, degree of volitional influence, modularity, and dependence on musical structure. By synthesizing theory and findings from different domains, we are able to provide the first set of hypotheses that can help researchers to distinguish among the mechanisms. We show that failure to control for the underlying mechanism may lead to inconsistent or non-interpretable findings. Thus, we argue that the new framework may guide future research and help to resolve previous disagreements in the field. We conclude that music evokes emotions through mechanisms that are not unique to music, and that the study of musical emotions could benefit the emotion field as a whole by providing novel paradigms for emotion induction.
How music fills our emotions and helps us keep time
Authors: Agostino Patricia V. , Peryer Guy , Meck Warren H.
Published: October 2008

Whether and how music is involved in evoking emotions is a matter of considerable debate. In the target article, Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V) argue that music induces a wide range of both basic and complex emotions that are shared with other stimuli. If such a link exists, it would provide a common basis for considering the interactions among music, emotion, timing, and time perception.
Ritual harmony: Toward an evolutionary theory of music
Authors: Alcorta Candace S. , Sosis Richard , Finkel Daniel
Published: October 2008

Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V) advance our understanding of the proximate mechanisms underlying emotional responses to music, but fail to integrate their findings into a comprehensive evolutionary model that addresses the adaptive functions of these responses. Here we offer such a model by examining the ontogenetic relationship between music, ritual, and symbolic abstraction and their role in facilitating social coordination and cooperation.
Musical emotions in the context of narrative film
Authors: Bezdek Matthew A. , Gerrig Richard J.
Published: October 2008

Juslin & Västfjäll's (J&V's) discussions of evaluative conditioning and episodic memory focus on circumstances in which music becomes associated with arbitrary life events. However, analyses of film music suggest that viewers experience consistent pairings between types of music and types of narrative content. Researchers have demonstrated that the emotional content of film music has a major impact on viewers' emotional experiences of a narrative.
Affective spectra, synchronization, and motion: Aspects of the emotional response to music
Authors: Bharucha Jamshed J. , Curtis Meagan
Published: October 2008

We propose three extensions of the theory developed by Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V). First,motionshould be considered as an additional mechanism. Second,synchronizationplays a role in eliciting emotion. And, third, the spectrum of musical affect or feelings is denser and broader than the spectrum of emotions, suggesting an expansion of the scope of the theory beyond emotions.
The role of semantic association and emotional contagion for the induction of emotion with music
Authors: Fritz Thomas , Koelsch Stefan
Published: October 2008

We suggest that semantic association may be a further mechanism by which music may elicit emotion. Furthermore, we note that emotional contagion is not always an immediate process requiring little prior information processing; rather, emotional contagion contributing to music processing may constitute a more complex decoding mechanism for information inherent in the music, which may be subject to a time course of activation.
Responses to music: Emotional signaling, and learning
Authors: Gardiner Martin F.
Published: October 2008

In the target article, Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V) contend that neural mechanisms not unique to music are critical to its capability to convey emotion. The work reviewed here provides a broader context for this proposal. Human abilities to signal emotion through sound could have been essential to human evolution, and may have contributed vital foundations for music. Future learning experiments are needed to further clarify engagement underlying musical and broader emotional signaling.
Evidence from young children regarding emotional responses to music
Authors: Holochwost Steven John , Izard Carroll E.
Published: October 2008

Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V) propose a theoretical framework of how music may evoke an emotional response. This commentary presents results from a pilot study that employed young children as participants, and measured musically induced emotions through facial expressions. Preliminary findings support certain aspects of the proposed theoretical framework. The implications of these findings on future research employing the proposed framework are discussed.
A skeptical position on “musical emotions” and an alternative proposal
Authors: Konečni Vladimir J.
Published: October 2008

Key premises of the target article by Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V) are challenged. It is also shown that most of the six “psychological mechanisms” proposed by the authors as underlying the induction of emotion by music involvenonmusicalproximal causes. As a replacement for “musical emotions,” the state ofbeing-moved– from the recently developed Aesthetic Trinity Theory – is proposed.
Musical expectancy: The influence of musical structure on emotional response
Authors: Krumhansl Carol L. , Agres Kat R.
Published: October 2008

When examining how emotions are evoked through music, the role of musical expectancy is often surprisingly under-credited. This mechanism, however, is most strongly tied to the actual structure of the music, and thus is important when considering how music elicits emotions. We briefly summarize Leonard Meyer's theoretical framework on musical expectancy and emotion and cite relevant research in the area.
Why we experience musical emotions: Intrinsic musicality in an evolutionary perspective
Authors: Lenti Boero Daniela , Bottoni Luciana
Published: October 2008

Taking into account an evolutionary viewpoint, we hypothesize that music could hide a universal and adaptive code determining preferences. We consider the possible selective pressure that might have shaped, at least in part, our emotional appreciation of sound and music, and sketch a comparison between parameters of some naturalistic sounds and music.
What about the music? Music-specific functions must be considered in order to explain reactions to music
Authors: Madison Guy
Published: October 2008

The mechanisms proposed in the target article are quite general and do not address variables specific for music. I argue that reactions to music include motivational mechanisms related to functions of music. To further the field, as the authors envision, consideration of internal mechanisms must be paired with specific hypotheses that include musical and musically relevant variables.
Distinguishing between two types of musical emotions and reconsidering the role of appraisal
Authors: Moors Agnes , Kuppens Peter
Published: October 2008

The target article inventories mechanisms underlying musical emotions. We argue that the inventory misses important mechanisms and that its structure would benefit from the distinction between two types of musical emotions. We also argue that the authors' claim that appraisal does not play a crucial role in the causation of musical emotions rests on a narrow conception of appraisal.
Notation and expression of emotion in operatic laughter
Authors: Provine Robert R.
Published: October 2008

The emotional expression of laughter in opera scores and performance was evaluated by converting notation to temporal data and contrasting it with the conversational laughter it emulates. The potency of scored and sung laughter was assayed by its ability to trigger contagion in audiences.
Feelings and the enjoyment of music
Authors: Rozin Alexander , Rozin Paul
Published: October 2008

We wonder about tying the universal appeal of music to emotion as defined by psychologists. Music is more generally about feelings, and many of these, such as moods and pleasures, are central to the enjoyment of music and fall outside the domain of emotion. The critical component of musical feelings is affective intensity, resulting from syntactically generated implications and their outcomes.
The role of exposure in emotional responses to music
Authors: Schellenberg E. Glenn
Published: October 2008

A basic aspect of emotional responding to music involves the liking for specific pieces. Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V) fail to acknowledge that simple exposure plays a fundamental role in this regard. Listeners like what they have heard but not what they have heard too often. Exposure represents an additional mechanism, ignored by the authors, that helps to explain emotional responses to music.
Music evoked emotionsaredifferent–more often aesthetic than utilitarian
Authors: Scherer Klaus , Zentner Marcel
Published: October 2008

We disagree with Juslin & Västfjäll's (J&V's) thesis that music-evoked emotions are indistinguishable from other emotions in both their nature and underlying mechanisms and that music just induces some emotions more frequently than others. Empirical evidence suggests that frequency differences reflect the specific nature of music-evoked emotions: aesthetic and reactive rather than utilitarian and proactive. Additional mechanisms and determinants are suggested as predictors of emotions triggered by music.
Super-expressive voices: Music to my ears?
Authors: Simpson Elizabeth A. , Oliver William T. , Fragaszy Dorothy
Published: October 2008

We present evidence from neuroimaging and brain lesion studies that emotional contagion may not be a mechanism underlying musical emotions. Our brains distinguish voice from non-voice sounds early in processing, and dedicate more resources to such processing. We argue thatsuper-expressive voicetheory currently cannot account for evidence of the dissociation in processing musical emotion and voice prosody.
The role of signal detection and amplification in the induction of emotion by music
Authors: Thompson William Forde , Coltheart Max
Published: October 2008

We propose that the six mechanisms identified by Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V) fall into two categories: signal detection and amplification. Signal detection mechanisms are unmediated and induce emotion by directly detecting emotive signals in music. Amplifiers act in conjunction with signal detection mechanisms. We also draw attention to theoretical and empirical challenges associated with the proposed mechanisms.
Music as a dishonest signal
Authors: Trehub Sandra E.
Published: October 2008

Instead of the discrete emotions approach adopted by Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V), the present perspective considers musical signals as functioning primarily to influence listeners in ways that are favorable to the signaler. Viewing music through the lens of social-emotional regulation fits with typical uses of music in everyday contexts and with the cross-cultural use of music for infant affect regulation.
Genre and academic writing in the disciplines
Authors: Hyland Ken
Published: October 2008

The last decade has seen increasing attention given to the notion of genre and its application in language teaching and learning. Genre represents how writers typically use language to respond to recurring situations, pointing to the fact that texts are most successful when they employ conventions that other members of the community find familiar and convincing. This community-based nature of genres suggests that their features will differ across disciplines, encouraging teachers to research the features of the texts their students need in order to make these explicit in their classes. I examine some of the research understandings and practical applications of these views by looking at what the approach offers teachers of academic writing.
BAAL/CUP seminars 2007
Authors: Rea-Dickins Pauline , Scott Katie , Yu Guoxing
Published: October 2008

The rationale for the seminar was primarily that there are links between language testing and assessment on one hand and applied linguistics on the other which could be mutually beneficial, but are not necessarily perceived as such. Secondly, it was suggested that research in language assessment and applied linguistics have been perceived as distinct, with the roles of language testing and assessment in applied linguistics relatively unexplored, an artificial divide that Bachman & Cohen (1998), for example, argue should be bridged (see also Bachman & Palmer 1996; Shohamy 2001). An additional motivation for proposing this conference was to build on the growing presence of assessment and testing concerns within applied linguistics, not merely to address issues of visibility but, importantly, to contribute to a research agenda between different research communities within our (wider) applied linguistics community. To this end, we asked our keynote speakers and those who submitted abstracts to focus explicitly on reciprocity between the fields.
Centre for Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick
Authors: Wharton Sue
Published: October 2008

The Centre for Applied Linguistics was established in 1983 and has grown from a relatively small teaching unit to a large centre engaged in a wide variety of activities under the broad heading of Applied Linguistics. Our work includes English language teaching, teacher education, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in applied linguistics, development of teaching and research resources, and small- and large-scale research.
Progression-free survival as a surrogate endpoint in advanced breast cancer
Authors: Miksad Rebecca A. , Zietemann Vera , Gothe Raffaella , Schwarzer Ruth , Conrads-Frank Annette , Schnell-Inderst Petra , Stollenwerk Björn , Siebert Uwe
Published: October 2008

Objectives:Progression-free survival (PFS) has not been validated as a surrogate endpoint for overall survival (OS) for anthracycline (A) and taxane-based (T) chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer (ABC). Using trial-level, meta-analytic approaches, we evaluated PFS as a surrogate endpoint.

Methods:A literature review identified randomized, controlled A and T trials for ABC. Progression-based endpoints were classified by prospective definitions. Treatment effects were derived as hazard ratios for PFS (HRPFS) and OS (HROS). Kappa statistic assessed overall agreement. A fixed-effects regression model was used to predict HROSfrom observed HRPFS. Cross-validation was performed. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were performed for PFS definition, year of last patient recruitment, line of treatment, and constant rate assumption.

Results:Sixteen A and fifteen T trials met inclusion criteria, producing seventeen A (n= 4,323) and seventeen T (n= 5,893) trial-arm pairs. Agreement (kappa statistic) between the direction of HROSand HRPFSwas 0.71 for A (p= .0029) and 0.75 for T (p= .0028). While HRPFSwas a statistically significant predictor of HROSfor both A (p= .0019) and T (p= .012), the explained variances were 0.49 (A) and 0.35 (T). In cross-validation, 97 percent of the 95 percent prediction intervals crossed the equivalence line, and the direction of predicted HROSagreed with observed HROSin 82 percent (A) and 76 percent (T). Results were robust in sensitivity and subgroup analyses.

Conclusions:This meta-analysis suggests that the trial-level treatment effect on PFS is significantly associated with the trial-level treatment effect on OS. However, prediction of OS based on PFS is surrounded with uncertainty.
Utilization patterns of diagnostic imaging across the late life course: A population-based study in Ontario, Canada
Authors: Wang Li , Nie Jason X. , Tracy C. Shawn , Moineddin Rahim , Upshur Ross E. G.
Published: October 2008

Objectives:Due to the aging baby boom population, utilization rates of diagnostic imaging (i.e., X-ray, CT, and MRI scanning) have risen rapidly relative to other health services. The aim of this study is to investigate the utilization patterns of outpatient diagnostic imaging services (X-ray, CT, and MRI) across the late life course (65 years and older).

Methods:A population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted for the period April 1, 2005, to March 31, 2006. All Ontario residents aged 65+ and eligible for government health insurance were included in the analysis.

Results:Utilization of diagnostic imaging followed an inverted U-pattern: increasing with advancing age, peaking in the 80–84 age group for CT scans and in the 70–74 age group for MRI and X-rays, and then declining in the later years. Overall, females received significantly more X-rays than males (p< .01), but males received significantly more CT and MRI scans (p< .01). A small proportion of high-users of radiology services accounted for a large proportion of overall utilization. Finally, our analysis revealed that a disproportionately large proportion of high-users of MRI services were in the highest SES quintile. No SES differences were observed for X-ray or CT scans.

Conclusions:Population aging will lead to increased demand for healthcare services. Utilization of outpatient diagnostic imaging services is associated with age, gender, and SES. Given the increasing demand and the limited resources available, there may be a need for programs to target underserved populations to reduce remediable inequities. Whereas patient-level decisions regarding the use of diagnostic imaging are rightfully determined on the basis of clinical factors, allocation decisions should also be informed by the ethical principles of equity and fairness.
Putting National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance into practice: A cost minimization model of a national roll-out of liquid based cytology in England
Authors: Stoykova Boyka , Kuzmanov Georgi , Dowie Robin
Published: October 2008

Objectives:In 2003, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) advised that liquid based cytology (LBC) should be adopted for cervical screening in England. The aim of this study was to explore the cost implications of implementing the NICE guidance in cytology laboratories. The ThinPrep® technology was used as the case study.

Methods:An optimization model was developed to analyze options for leasing alternative LBC processing machines with different capacities. Variables entered in the model included: the cost of the contract with the supplier, the laboratory labor cost, and inter-laboratory transport costs. All costs referred to the 2005–06 financial year. A simulation program calculated mileages within laboratory networks. Alternative strategies for contracting by laboratories acting independently and by Quality Assessment Regional Centres (QARC) were analyzed.

Results:Centralizing the processing of specimens in “hub and spoke” laboratory networks was the least costly strategy. Total annual costs for England using existing transport links were £14,807,000 for 5-year contracts. If all laboratories installed processors, the annual cost for 5-year contracts placed by QARCs was £14,941,000 compared with £16,359,000 if the laboratories placed their own contracts. Three-year contracts averaged an additional £1 million: £15,912,000 for networks and £17,304,000 for independent laboratory contracts.

Conclusions:Deciding on the mode of implementation of a NICE guidance can be challenging for decision makers. These cost minimization appraisal techniques are equally applicable to national screening programs in general and to other health technologies for which there are significant cost implications associated with innovative policy directives.
Locating systematic reviews of test accuracy studies: How five specialist review databases measure up
Authors: Bayliss Sue E. , Davenport Clare
Published: October 2008

Objectives:The aim of this study was to examine location of systematic reviews of test accuracy in five specialist review databases: York CRD's DARE and HTA databases, Medion (University of Maastricht), C-EBLM (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry), and the ARIF in-house database (University of Birmingham).

Methods:Searches were limited to the period 1996–2006. Test accuracy reviews were located using in-house diagnostic search filters and with help from database producers where databases were not confined to test accuracy reviews. References were coded according to disease area, review purpose, and test application. Ease of use, volume, overlap, and content of databases was noted.

Results:A large degree of overlap existed between databases. Medion contained the largest number (n= 672) and the largest number of unique (n= 328) test accuracy references. A combination of three databases identified only 76% of test reviews. All databases were rated as easy to search but varied with respect to timeliness and compatibility with reference management software. Most reviews evaluated test accuracy (85%) but the HTA database had a larger proportion of cost-effectiveness and screening reviews and C-EBLM more reviews addressing early test development. Most reviews were conducted in secondary care settings.

Conclusions:Specialist review databases offer an essential addition to general bibliographic databases where application of diagnostic method filters can compromise search sensitivity. Important differences exist between databases in terms of ease of use and content. Our findings raise the question whether the current balance of research setting, in particular the predominance of research on tests used in secondary care, matches the needs of decision makers.
Why ethics should be part of health technology assessment
Authors: Hofmann Bjørn Morten
Published: October 2008

From the heydays of HTA in the 1970s, it has been argued that ethics should be a part of HTA. Despite more than 30 years with repeated intentions, only few HTA reports include ethical analysis, and there is little agreement on methods for integrating ethics. This poses the question of why it is so important to integrate ethics in HTA? The article analyzes ten arguments for making ethics part of HTA. The validity of the arguments depend on what we mean by “integrating,” “ethics,” and “HTA.” Some of the counterarguments explain why it has taken so long to integrate ethics in HTA and why there are so many ethical approaches. Nevertheless, some of the arguments for making ethics part of HTA appear to be compelling. Health care is a moral endeavor, and the vast potential of technology poses complex moral challenges. A thorough assessment of technology would include reflection on these moral aspects. Ethics provides such a moral reflection. Health technology is a way to improve the life of human individuals. This involves questions of what “the good life” is, and hence ethical issues. Trying to ignore such questions may inflict with the moral foundation of health care: to help people. Additionally, HTA is anevaluation, and as such also a reflection on values. Hence, there is a profound affinity between HTA and ethics. Accordingly, ethics cannot be “integrated” in HTA as ethics is already a constitutive part of HTA. However, ethics can be acknowledged and emphasized.
Economic evaluations conducted by Canadian health technology assessment agencies: Where do we stand?
Authors: Tarride Jean-Eric , McCarron Catherine Elizabeth , Lim Morgan , Bowen James M. , Blackhouse Gord , Hopkins Robert , O'Reilly Daria , Xie Feng , Goeree Ron
Published: October 2008

Objectives:To examine the production of Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) with economic evaluations (EEs) conducted by Canadian HTA agencies.

Methods:This research used a three-step approach: (i) the Web sites of five Canadian organizations promoting HTA were searched to identify HTA reports with EEs; (ii) HTA agencies were surveyed to verify that our information was complete with respect to HTA activities and to describe the factors that influence the HTA process in Canada (i.e., selection of HTA topics, execution, dissemination of results and future trends); (iii) HTAs with EEs were appraised in terms of study design, retrieval of clinical and economic evidence, resource utilization and costing, effectiveness measures, treatment of uncertainty as well as presence of a budget impact analysis (BIA), and policy recommendations.

Results:Two hundred forty-nine HTA reports were identified of which 19 percent included EEs (n= 48). Decision analytic techniques were used in approximately 75 percent of the forty-eight EEs and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were commonly used by all agencies to deal with parameter uncertainty. BIAs or policy recommendations were given in 50 percent of the evaluations. Differences between agencies were observed in terms of selection of topics, focus of assessment and production of HTA (e.g., in-house activities). Major barriers to the conduct of HTAs with EEs were capacity, a lack of interest by decision makers and a lack of robust clinical information.

Conclusions:The results of this research point to the need for increased HTA training, collaboration, evidence synthesis, and use of pragmatic “real world” evaluations.
Factors influencing the quality of medical documentation when a paper-based medical records system is replaced with an electronic medical records system: An Iranian case study
Authors: Pourasghar Faramarz , Malekafzali Hossein , Koch Sabine , Fors Uno
Published: October 2008

Objectives:Information technology is a rapidly expanding branch of science which has affected other sciences. One example of using information technology in medicine is the Electronic Medical Records system. One medical university in Iran decided to introduce such system in its hospital. This study was designed to identify the factors which influence the quality of medical documentation when paper-based records are replaced with electronic records.

Methods:A set of 300 electronic medical records was randomly selected and evaluated against eleven checklists in terms of documentation of medical information, availability, accuracy and ease of use. To get the opinion of the care-providers on the electronic medical records system, ten physicians and ten nurses were interviewed by using of semi-structured guidelines. The results were also compared with a prior study with 300 paper-based medical records.

Results:The quality of documentation of the medical records was improved in areas where nurses were involved, but those parts which needed physicians' involvement were actually worse. High workloads, shortage of bedside hardware and lack of software features were prominent influential factors in the quality of documentation. The results also indicate that the retrieval of information from the electronic medical records is easier and faster, especially in emergency situations.

Conclusions:The electronic medical records system can be a good substitute for the paper-based medical records system. However, according to this study, some factors such as low physician acceptance of the electronic medical record system, lack of administrative mechanisms (for instance supervision, neglecting physicians and/or nurses in the development and implementation phases and also continuous training), availability of hardware as well as lack of specific software features can negatively affect transition from a paper-based system to an electronic system.
How is magnetic resonance imaging used in Iran?
Authors: Palesh Mohammad , Fredrikson Sten , Jamshidi Hamidreza , Tomson Goran , Petzold Max
Published: October 2008

Objectives:Analysis of and understanding the utilization patterns of diagnostic imaging technologies is important for planning health systems especially in middle- and low-income countries. Almost all published studies have been focused on utilization trends or utilization rates of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over time and little has been published about utilization patterns of MRI. This study aims to identify and describe the utilization pattern of MRI in Iran.

Methods:Data was collected from referrals and MRI reports of the population covered by one of the largest insurance organizations (Social Security Organization [SSO]) with more than 27 million beneficiaries in the Country. We focused on patients who had undergone an MRI examination during 1 month (October 13 to November 12), 2005. The data collected consisted of 1,656 referrals for MR imaging and 1,547 MRI reports.

Results:No clear association was found between the number of referrals per 100,000 population and the number of MRI machines per 100,000 population (r = 0.30;p= .13). Neurosurgeons, orthopedists, and neurologists contributed to more than 88 percent of MRI utilization. The Spinal column (55 percent), brain (25.5 percent), and knee (11.0 percent) were the most common parts of the body scanned by MRI.

Conclusions:Having identified some of the most frequent users of MRI technology, any plan for modifying or improving MRI use should focus mainly on these specialties. International evidence on using the technology for examining brain and spine indicate that MRI is mainly used in diagnosing the central nervous system (CNS) diseases.
Comparison of four contingent valuation methods to estimate the economic value of a pneumococcal vaccine in Bangladesh
Authors: Heinzen Rebekah R. , Bridges John F. P.
Published: October 2008

Objectives:To compare four contingent valuation elicitation methods as a means to estimate the value of a pneumococcal vaccine in Bangladesh and to test if the elicitation methods are subject to bias and if they produce valid responses.

Methods:Three hundred sixty-one households with at least one child under 5 years of age were recruited in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Subjects were cluster-randomized to various elicitation methods: open-ended, dichotomous choice (at one of two asking prices), payment card (one of two cards with differing ranges). The dichotomous choice method was then followed up with a bidding game methodology, with the dichotomous choice price acting as the starting price for the bidding game. Analysis focused on summary statistics, demand curve estimation and multivariate regression analysis to test for validity and bias.

Results:Thirty-one households refused to participate, leaving a total of 330 participating households (a 91.4 percent response rate). Willingness to pay estimates varied significantly across the methods (p< .001), with average estimates varying between $2.34 and $18 (US). The open-ended elicitation method was found to produce highly inflated values that were insensitive to construct validity tests. The dichotomous choice method produced quantity (demand) estimates rather than value estimates, and there was some evidence of yea saying. The payment card elicitation method was found to be affected by range bias. The bidding game elicitation method was found to be less sensitive to starting point bias and yea-saying.

Conclusions:Different elicitation format do give rise to different demand curves; however, this may be partially due to the fact that they do not measure the same outcome. For example, the dichotomous choice format produces a demand curve, while the payment card, open-ended and bidding game produce inverse demand curves. All formats are prone to multiple biases. When choosing an elicitation format, it is important to first consider the purpose and use of the data. Each elicitation method has strengths and weaknesses and can be used for different purposes in technology assessment.