bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence on the Health of the Partner Affected by Tumor Disease in the Wife or Husband Based on a Population-Based Register Study of Cancer in Sweden
Authors: Sjövall Katarina , Attner Bo , Lithman Thor , Noreen Dennis , Gunnars Barbro , Thomé Bibbi , Olsson Håkan
Published: September 2009

Purpose

To examine health care use and health care costs among partners of persons with cancer.

Patients and Methods

Partners of patients with colon, rectal, lung, breast, and prostate cancer (N = 11,076) were identified via linked data from the Tumor Registry of Southern Sweden and Census Registry of Sweden. Health care use, total costs of health care, and diagnosis of the partner were studied before and after diagnosis of the cancer patient.

Results

Health care use for partners increased in terms of in-patient care after the cancer diagnosis. A significant increase was seen the second year for partners of patients with colon cancer (risk ratio [RR], 1.55; 95% CI, 1.28 to 1.87) and lung cancer (RR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.26 to 1.79). Psychiatric diagnoses increased after the cancer diagnosis in the total sample, with a significant increase for partners of colon (RR, 2.66; 95% CI, 1.71 to 4.22), lung (RR, 3.16; 95% CI, 2.23 to 4.57), and prostate cancer patients (RR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.32 to 2.15). Costs of care increased more than the consumer price index the two years after the cancer diagnosis. Costs of care increased most for male partners and especially for younger male partners (age 25 to 64 years) of patients with colon, rectal, and lung cancers.

Conclusion

The results showed increased health care costs and an increase in psychiatric diagnoses after the cancer diagnosis among partners of cancer patients. Further research is needed to learn more about the situation of the partner and to identify persons at risk of psychiatric morbidity. Knowledge is also needed on how to support the partner in the most efficient way.
Prediction of Local Recurrence, Distant Metastases, and Death After Breast-Conserving Therapy in Early-Stage Invasive Breast Cancer Using a Five-Biomarker Panel
Authors: Millar Ewan K.A. , Graham Peter H. , O'Toole Sandra A. , McNeil Catriona M. , Browne Lois , Morey Adrienne L. , Eggleton Sarah , Beretov Julia , Theocharous Constantine , Capp Anne , Nasser Elias , Kearsley John H. , Delaney Geoff , Papadatos George , Fox Christopher , Sutherland Robert L.
Published: September 2009

Purpose

To determine the clinical utility of intrinsic molecular phenotype after breast-conserving therapy (BCT) with lumpectomy and whole-breast irradiation with or without a cavity boost.

Patients and Methods

Four hundred ninety-eight patients with invasive breast cancer were enrolled into a randomized trial of BCT with or without a tumor bed radiation boost. Tumors were classified by intrinsic molecular phenotype as luminal A or B, HER-2, basal-like, or unclassified using a five-biomarker panel: estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER-2, CK5/6, and epidermal growth factor receptor. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards methodology were used to ascertain relationships to ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR), locoregional recurrence (LRR), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), and death from breast cancer.

Results

Median follow-up was 84 months. Three hundred ninety-four patients were classified as luminal A, 23 were luminal B, 52 were basal, 13 were HER-2, and 16 were unclassified. There were 24 IBTR (4.8%), 35 LRR (7%), 47 distant metastases (9.4%), and 37 breast cancer deaths (7.4%). The overall 5-year disease-free rates for the whole cohort were: IBTR 97.4%, LRR 95.6%, DDFS 92.9%, and breast cancer–specific death 96.3%. A significant difference was observed for survival between subtypes for LRR (P = .012), DDFS (P = .0035), and breast cancer–specific death (P = .0482), but not for IBTR (P = .346).

Conclusion

The 5-year and 10-year survival rates varied according to molecular subtype. Although this approach provides additional information to predict time to IBTR, LRR, DDFS, and death from breast cancer, its predictive power is less than that of traditional pathologic indices. This information may be useful in discussing outcomes and planning management with patients after BCT.
Phase I and Biomarker Study of ABT-869, a Multiple Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor, in Patients With Refractory Solid Malignancies
Authors: Wong Chiung-Ing , Koh Tong-San , Soo Ross , Hartono Septian , Thng Choon-Hua , McKeegan Evelyn , Yong Wei-Peng , Chen Chien-Shing , Lee Soo-Chin , Wong John , Lim Robert , Sukri Norita , Lim Siew-Eng , Ong Ai-Bee , Steinberg Joyce , Gupta Neeraj , Pradhan Rajendra , Humerickhouse Rod , Goh Boon-Cher
Published: September 2009

Purpose

To determine the safety and tolerability of ABT-869 at escalating doses and its effects on biomarkers relevant for antiangiogenic activity in patients with solid malignancies.

Patients and Methods

Patients with solid malignancies refractory to or for which no standard effective therapy exists were enrolled onto escalating-dose cohorts and treated with oral ABT-869 once daily continuously.

Results

Thirty-three patients were studied at doses of 10 mg/d, 0.1 mg/kg/d, 0.25 mg/kg/d, and 0.3 mg/kg/d. Dose-limiting toxicities in the first cycle (21 days) included grade 3 fatigue in a patient at 10 mg/d, grade 3 proteinuria and grade 3 hypertension in two separate patients at 0.25 mg/kg/d, and grade 3 hypertension and grade 3 proteinuria in two separate patients at 0.3 mg/kg/d, which was the maximum-tolerated dose. Other significant treatment-related adverse events included asthenia, hand and foot blisters, and myalgia. Oral clearance of ABT-869 was linear, with a mean of 2.7 ± 1.2 L/h and half-life of 18.4 ± 5.7 hours, with no evidence of drug accumulation at day 15. Two patients with lung cancer and one patient with colon cancer achieved partial response. Stable disease for more than four cycles was observed in 16 patients (48%). Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) showed dose-dependent reduced tumor vascular permeability that correlated with drug exposure. By day 15 of treatment, circulating endothelial cells were significantly reduced (P = .007), whereas plasma vascular endothelial growth factor was increased (P = .004).

Conclusion

ABT-869 by continuous once-daily dosing was tolerable at doses ≤ 0.25 mg/kg/d. Biomarker evidence of antiangiogenic activity and DCE-MRI evidence of tumor antiangiogenesis were observed together with promising clinical activity.
Phase III Trial of Four Cisplatin-Containing Doublet Combinations in Stage IVB, Recurrent, or Persistent Cervical Carcinoma: A Gynecologic Oncology Group Study
Authors: Monk Bradley J. , Sill Michael W. , McMeekin D. Scott , Cohn David E. , Ramondetta Lois M. , Boardman Cecelia H. , Benda Jo , Cella David
Published: September 2009

Purpose

Assess toxicity and efficacy of cisplatin (Cis) doublet combinations in advanced and recurrent cervical carcinoma.

Patients and Methods

Patients were randomly assigned to paclitaxel 135 mg/m2over 24 hours plus Cis 50 mg/m2day 2 every 3 weeks (PC, reference arm); vinorelbine 30 mg/m2days 1 and 8 plus Cis 50 mg/m2day 1 every 3 weeks (VC); gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2day 1 and 8 plus Cis 50 mg/m2day 1 every 3 weeks (GC); or topotecan 0.75 mg/m2days 1, 2, and 3 plus Cis 50 mg/m2day 1 every 3 weeks (TC). Survival was the primary end point with a 33% improvement relative to PC considered important (85% power, alpha = 5%). Quality-of-life data were prospectively collected.

Results

A total of 513 patients were enrolled when a planned interim analysis recommended early closure for futility. The experimental-to-PC hazard ratios of death were 1.15 (95% CI, 0.79 to 1.67) for VC, 1.32 (95% CI, 0.91 to 1.92) for GC, and 1.26 (95% CI, 0.86 to 1.82) for TC. The hazard ratios for progression-free survival (PFS) were 1.36 (95% CI, 0.97 to 1.90) for VC, 1.39 (95% CI, 0.99 to 1.96) for GC, and 1.27 (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.78) for TC. Response rates (RRs) for PC, VC, GC, and TC were 29.1%, 25.9%, 22.3%, and 23.4%, respectively. The arms were comparable with respect to toxicity except for leucopenia, neutropenia, infection, and alopecia.

Conclusion

VC, GC, and TC are not superior to PC in terms of overall survival (OS). However, the trend in RR, PFS, and OS favors PC. Differences in chemotherapy scheduling, pre-existing morbidity, and toxicity are important in individualizing therapy.
Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis and Treatment in Cancer: A Consensus Statement of Major Guidelines Panels and Call to Action
Authors: Khorana Alok A. , Streiff Michael B. , Farge Dominique , Mandala Mario , Debourdeau Philippe , Cajfinger Francis , Marty Michel , Falanga Anna , Lyman Gary H.
Published: September 2009

Purpose

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an increasingly frequent complication of cancer and its treatments, and is associated with worsened mortality and morbidity in patients with cancer.

Design

The Italian Association of Medical Oncology, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the French National Federation of the League of Centers Against Cancer, and the European Society of Medical Oncology have recently published guidelines regarding VTE in patients with cancer. This review, authored by a working group of members from these panels, focuses on the methodology and areas of consensus and disagreement in the various clinical guidelines as well as directions for future research.

Results

There is broad consensus regarding the importance of thromboprophylaxis in hospitalized patients with cancer, including prolonged prophylaxis in high-risk surgical patients. Prophylaxis is not currently recommended for ambulatory patients with cancer (with exceptions) or for central venous catheters. All of the panels agree that low molecular weight heparins are preferred for the long-term treatment of VTE in cancer. Areas that warrant further research include the benefit of prophylaxis in the ambulatory setting, the risk/benefit ratio of prophylaxis for hospitalized patients with cancer, an understanding of incidental VTE, and the impact of anticoagulation on survival.

Conclusion

We call for a sustained research effort to investigate the clinical issues identified here to reduce the burden of VTE and its consequences in patients with cancer.
Lenalidomide Plus Prednisone Results in Durable Clinical, Histopathologic, and Molecular Responses in Patients With Myelofibrosis
Authors: Quintás-Cardama Alfonso , Kantarjian Hagop M. , Manshouri Taghi , Thomas Deborah , Cortes Jorge , Ravandi Farhad , Garcia-Manero Guillermo , Ferrajoli Alessandra , Bueso-Ramos Carlos , Verstovsek Srdan
Published: September 2009

Purpose

To investigate the safety and efficacy of the combination of lenalidomide and prednisone in patients with myelofibrosis (MF).

Patients and Methods

Forty patients with MF were treated. Therapy consisted of lenalidomide 10 mg/d (5 mg/d if baseline platelet count < 100 × 109/L) on days 1 through 21 of a 28-day cycle for six cycles, in combination with prednisone 30 mg/d orally during cycle 1, 15 mg/d during cycle 2, and 15 mg/d every other day during cycle 3. Lenalidomide therapy was continued indefinitely in patients exhibiting clinical benefit.

Results

The median follow-up was 22 months (range, 6 to 27). Responses were recorded in 12 patients (30%) and are ongoing in 10 (25%). The median time to response was 12 weeks (range, 2 to 32). According to the International Working Group for Myelofibrosis Research and Treatment consensus criteria, three patients (7.5%) had partial response and nine patients (22.5%) had clinical improvement durable for a median of 18 months (range, 3.5 to 24+). Overall response rates were 30% for anemia and 42% for splenomegaly. Moreover, 10 of 11 assessable responders who started therapy with reticulin fibrosis grade 4 experienced reductions to at least a score of 2. All eight JAK2V617F–positive responders experienced a reduction of the baseline mutant allele burden, which was greater than 50% in four, including one of whom the mutation became undetectable. Grade 3 to 4 hematologic adverse events included neutropenia (58%), anemia (42%), and thrombocytopenia (13%).

Conclusion

The combination of lenalidomide and prednisone induces durable clinical, molecular, and pathologic responses in MF.
Phase III Study of Pemetrexed Plus Carboplatin Compared With Etoposide Plus Carboplatin in Chemotherapy-Naive Patients With Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Socinski Mark A. , Smit Egbert F. , Lorigan Paul , Konduri Kartik , Reck Martin , Szczesna Aleksandra , Blakely Johnetta , Serwatowski Piotr , Karaseva Nina A. , Ciuleanu Tudor , Jassem Jacek , Dediu Mircea , Hong Shengyan , Visseren-Grul Carla , Hanauske Axel-Rainer , Obasaju Coleman K. , Guba Susan C. , Thatcher Nick
Published: September 2009

Purpose

Following a phase II trial in which pemetrexed-platinum demonstrated similar activity to that of historical etoposide-platinum controls, a phase III study was conducted to compare pemetrexed-carboplatin with etoposide-carboplatin for the treatment of extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).

Patients and Methods

Chemotherapy-naive patients with ES-SCLC and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of zero to 2 were randomly assigned to receive pemetrexed-carboplatin (pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 on day 1; carboplatin at area under the serum concentration-time curve [AUC] 5 on day 1) or etoposide-carboplatin (etoposide 100 mg/m2 on days 1 through 3; carboplatin AUC 5 on day 1) every 3 weeks for up to six cycles. The primary objective of the study was noninferiority of pemetrexed-carboplatin overall survival with a 15% margin.

Results

Accrual was terminated with 908 of 1,820 patients enrolled after results of a planned interim analysis. In the final analysis, pemetrexed-carboplatin was inferior to etoposide-carboplatin for overall survival (median, 8.1 v 10.6 months; hazard ratio [HR],1.56; 95% CI, 1.27 to 1.92; log-rank P < .01) and progression-free survival (median, 3.8 v 5.4 months; HR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.58 to 2.17; log-rank P < .01). Objective response rates were also significantly lower for pemetrexed-carboplatin (31% v 52%; P < .001). Pemetrexed-carboplatin had lower grade 3 to 4 neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, and leukopenia than etoposide-carboplatin; grade 3 to 4 thrombocytopenia was comparable between arms and anemia was higher in the pemetrexed-carboplatin arm.

Conclusion

Pemetrexed-carboplatin is inferior for the treatment of ES-SCLC. Planned translational research and pharmacogenomic analyses of tumor and blood samples may help explain the study results and provide insight into new treatment strategies.
Pomalidomide (CC4047) Plus Low-Dose Dexamethasone As Therapy for Relapsed Multiple Myeloma
Authors: Lacy Martha Q. , Hayman Suzanne R. , Gertz Morie A. , Dispenzieri Angela , Buadi Francis , Kumar Shaji , Greipp Philip R. , Lust John A. , Russell Stephen J. , Dingli David , Kyle Robert A. , Fonseca Rafael , Bergsagel P. Leif , Roy Vivek , Mikhael Joseph R. , Stewart A. Keith , Laumann Kristina , Allred Jacob B. , Mandrekar Sumithra J. , Rajkumar S. Vincent
Published: September 2009

Purpose

Thalidomide and lenalidomide are immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) that produce high remission rates in the treatment of multiple myeloma. Pomalidomide is a new IMiD with high in vitro potency. We report, to our knowledge, the first phase II trial of pomalidomide administered in combination with low-dose dexamethasone for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Patients and Methods

Pomalidomide was administered orally at a dose of 2 mg daily on days 1 through 28 of a 28-day cycle. Dexamethasone 40 mg daily was administered orally on days 1, 8, 15, and 22 of each cycle. Responses were recorded using the criteria of the International Myeloma Working Group.

Results

Sixty patients were enrolled. Thirty-eight patients (63%) achieved confirmed response including complete response in three patients (5%), very good partial response in 17 patients (28%), and partial response in 18 patients (30%). Responses were seen in 40% of lenalidomide-refractory patients, 37% of thalidomide-refractory patients, and 60% of bortezomib-refractory patients. Responses were seen in 74% of patients with high-risk cytogenetic or molecular markers. Toxicity consisted primarily of myelosuppression. Grade 3 or 4 hematologic toxicity consisted of anemia (5%), thrombocytopenia (3%), and neutropenia (32%). One patient (1.6%) had a thromboembolic event. The median progression-free survival time was 11.6 months and was not significantly different in patients with high-risk disease compared with patients with standard-risk disease.

Conclusion

The combination of pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone is extremely active in the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma, including high response rates in patients refractory to other novel agents.
The Short, Radical Life of Pearl McGill
Authors: Rousmaniere Kate
Published: September 2009

This essay draws on the surviving letters of an early 20th century Iowa woman who moved rapidly from participation in a local factory strike, to activism in some of the most radical political movements of the day, to career as a rural school teacher, to victim of domestic violence. Pearl McGill's life is both typical of the struggles and tragedies of working women and political activists, and is exceptional in its drama. Also exceptional is that her story survives at all.
Response to Woody Holton's “Primitive Accumulation”
Authors: Zagarri Rosemarie
Published: September 2009

Holton's maintains that in explaining the origins of the U.S. Constitution historians have emphasized the concerns expressed by elites while overlooking the issues that most troubled large numbers of “ordinary” Americans. The strength of the argument is that Holton gives voice to the protests and grievances of small farmers and debtors, who believed that the state governments were imposing oppressive and unjust taxes during the 1780s. Yet his argument has several weaknesses. First, he overlooks regional differences within the country in the way that state legislatures responded to the taxation issues of the 1780s. Southern states, in which slave labor was most important, addressed the complaints quickly and minimized conflict among whites. Second, Holton overlooks the work of the historian Jackson Turner Main, which suggests that there was no definite connection between indebtedness and opposition to the U.S. Constitution. Finally, Holton's narrow focus on economic issues obscures the broader motives that led to writing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Death at the Machine: Critiques of Industrial Capitalism in the Fiction of Labor Activist Lizzie M. Holmes
Authors: Percy Ruth
Published: September 2009

At the beginning of the twentieth century former socialist and anarchist Lizzie Swank Holmes wrote a series of eight fictional stories for the American Federation of Labor journal. Financial necessity was no doubt an important motivator, but Holmes likely also recognized the large and diverse potential readership American Federationist could offer. Examination of these stories thus pushes us to consider the complex rather than linear relationship between an individual's radical and labour politics and her journalist and literary production. Through Holmes we consider the ease with which many individuals moved between and through a number of different organizations, some of which appear in opposition with one another.
Synthesis of VOx Nanotubes by Cooperation of Tetramethylammonium Hydroxide and Tetradecylamine in Short Duration
Authors: Shen Yeqian , Peng Luming , Guo Xuefeng , Ding Weiping
Published: September 2009

A simple, rapid, and highly efficient method for the synthesis of uniform vanadium oxide nanotubes with the cooperation of tetramethylammonium hydroxide and tetradecylamine was successfully developed.
Comparative Magnetic Study of Electrochemically and Chemically Delithiated LixMn2O4 and LixNiO2
Authors: Mukai Kazuhiko , Sugiyama Jun
Published: September 2009

The magnetic nature of almost fully delithiated LixMn2O4 and LixNiO2 samples, which were prepared by both an electrochemical (EC-) and chemical (C-) reaction, has been investigated by dc-susceptibility measurements. The Curie–Weiss parameters for C-Li0.07Mn2O4 are almost identical to those for EC-Li0.03Mn2O4. On the contrary, the effective magnetic moment for C-Li0.01NiO2 (1.43 μB) is roughly twice that for EC-Li0.05NiO2 (0.71 μB), suggesting that the Ni valence is not simply determined by the Li/Ni ratio for C-Li0.01NiO2.
Enhanced Photocatalytic Cytotoxic Activity of Au@TiO2 Nanopellets against Human Epithelial Carcinoma (HeLa) Cells
Authors: Abdulla-Al-Mamun Md , Kusumoto Yoshihumi , Islam Md Shariful , Yang Hailong
Published: September 2009

The photocatalytic cytotoxicity of metallic gold-capped TiO2 (Au@TiO2) colloidal nanopellets was investigated against HeLa cells under UV–vis light irradiation. The morphological structure and the surface species of Au@TiO2 nanopellets were determined by using UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, TEM, SEM, XPS, XRD, and EDX techniques. The photocatalytic cytotoxicity of Au@TiO2 nanopellets was compared with that of TiO2 alone under the same experimental conditions. The cytotoxic effect of Au@TiO2 nanopellets was found to be 100%, whereas that of commercial TiO2 (P25) was ca. 50%.
Strengths and limitations of considering patients as ethics ‘actors’ equal to doctors: reflections on the patients’ position in a French clinical ethics consultation setting
Authors: Rari Eirini , Fournier Véeronique
Published: September 2009

The Clinical ethics centre in Paris offers its services equally to doctors and patients/proxies. Its primary goal is to re-equilibrate doctor-patient roles through giving greater voice to patients individually in medical decisions. Patients are present at virtually all levels, initiating consults, providing their point of view and receiving feedback. The implications of patients’ involvement are threefold. At an operational level, decision-making is facilitated by repositioning the debate on ethical grounds and introducing a dynamic of decisional partnership, although contact with patients can make it difficult to deny their demands and set the limits of our role. Ethically, it reinforces patients’ autonomy and grants them a place of veritable ethics ‘actors’, with the danger that this may become excessively autonomy oriented. Finally, at a collective level, the programme fulfils its political purpose in promoting patients’ rights and the ideal of démocratie sanitaire, but complicates balancing individual demands with collective values.
Patient involvement in clinical ethics services: from access to participation and membership
Authors: Neitzke Gerald
Published: September 2009

Ethics consultation is a novel paradigm in European health-care institutions. In this paper, patient involvement in all clinical ethics activities is scrutinized. It is argued that patients should have access to case consultation services via clearly defined access paths. However, the right of both health-care professionals and patients indicates that patients should not always be notified of a consultation. Ethics education, another well-established function of an ethics committee, should equally be available for patients, lay people and hospital staff. Beyond access and utilization, lay membership on a clinical ethics service is a matter of transparency, equal participation, empowerment and democratization. Lay and patient perspectives will contribute to the quality of ethics services on all levels from case consultations to ethics education and policy development.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900): A classical case of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome?
Authors: Koszka Christiane
Published: September 2009

Friedrich Nietzsche was one of the most influential and profound German philosophers. After prolonged illness, he died at the age of 55 in Weimar, Germany. The interest in his medical biography has always been strong while the cause of his illness and death has remained a mystery, intriguing philosophers as well as physicians. The diagnosis of syphilis proposed in the 19th century has been controversial until today and many other diagnoses have been discussed. This paper suggests that Nietzsche suffered from mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes syndrome.
Leonard Craske (1878–1950): From medical student to sculptor
Authors: Duke Martin
Published: September 2009

Leonard Craske (1878–1950), born and raised in London, England, spent two years as a medical student at St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School. Following this, he worked as an actor and studied drawing and sculpting. After emigrating to the USA and settling in Boston, he became an accomplished sculptor, creating the well-known Fishermen's Memorial in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the work for which he is best remembered.
Sir Hans Adolf Krebs (1900–81), pioneer of modern medicine, architect of intermediary metabolism
Authors: Leigh F W
Published: September 2009

Krebs was born in Hildesheim (North Germany) and graduated (MD) from the University of Munich in 1923. He was assistant to Otto Warburg (1926–30) who taught tissue slicing and manometry which Krebs used to complete his three great works: The Detoxification of Ammonia (Freiburg im Breisgau 1933), The Degradation of Foods to provide Energy for Life (Sheffield 1937) and Gluconeogenesis (Oxford 1963). He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) in 1947, Nobel Laureate in 1953 and KBE in 1958.
Thromboelastography and peripartum coagulation profiles associated with caesarean section delivery
Authors: Smith R , Campbell-Owen T , Maybury H , Pavord S , Waugh J
Published: September 2009

Thromboembolic (TE) disease remains the leading direct cause of maternal death in the UK and caesarean section increases TE risk. Women are assessed for their TE risk and may receive thromboprophylaxis. From a single blood sample thromboelastography® (TEG®) allows a test of coagulation. Blood samples from women undergoing elective caesarean sections were collected at specific stages: antenatally, following overnight ‘nil-by-mouth’, immediately after surgery, four hours post-delivery and 24 hours post-delivery. Analyses of the R time (time taken for blood to clot) and maximum amplitude (MA) (overall clot strength) were performed. Analyses of the high and moderate risks cohorts were performed and compared to the low risk group.

Fifty-four women were recruited. A reduction in the R time was demonstrated following pre-operative fluid restriction and a further reduction in R time occurred after surgery. The R time increased 24 hours after surgery and became comparable to pre-operative levels. The MA changed similarly due to pre-operative fluid restriction. Analysis also showed that pre-operatively, the combined high and moderate risk groups’ R time was shorter than the low risk group. The high and moderate risk group, having received thromboprophylaxis, had similar R times 24 hours postoperatively compared to the low risk group. TEG® demonstrates that following pre-operative fluid restriction and surgery women become hypercoagulable but by 24 hours coagulation has returned to third trimester levels. Sub-group analysis suggests the relative pre-operative hypercoagulability of high and moderate risk women compared to low risk women, becoming comparable after 24 hours following thromboprophylaxis.
Diffusion Models for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Media Distribution: On the Impact of Decentralized, Constrained Supply
Authors: Hosanagar Kartik , Han Peng , Tan Yong
Published: September 2009

In peer-to-peer (P2P) media distribution, users obtain content from other users who already have it. This form of decentralized product distribution demonstrates several unique features. Only a small fraction of users in the network are queried when a potential adopter seeks a file, and many of these users might even free-ride, i.e., not distribute the content to others. As a result, generated demand might not always be fulfilled immediately. We present mixing models for product diffusion in P2P networks that capture decentralized product distribution by current adopters, incomplete demand fulfillment and other unique aspects of P2P product diffusion. The models serve to demonstrate the important role that P2P search process and distribution referrals—payments made to users that distribute files—play in efficient P2P media distribution. We demonstrate the ability of our diffusion models to derive normative insights for P2P media distributors by studying the effectiveness of distribution referrals in speeding product diffusion and determining optimal referral policies for fully decentralized and hierarchical P2P networks.
Coevolving Systems and the Organization of Agile Software Development
Authors: Vidgen Richard , Wang Xiaofeng
Published: September 2009

Despite the popularity of agile methods in software development and increasing adoption by organizations there is debate about what agility is and how it is achieved. The debate suffers from a lack of understanding of agile concepts and how agile software development is practiced. This paper develops a framework for the organization of agile software development that identifies enablers and inhibitors of agility and the emergent capabilities of agile teams. The work is grounded in complex adaptive systems (CAS) and draws on three principles of coevolving systems: match coevolutionary change rate, maximize self-organizing, and synchronize exploitation and exploration. These principles are used to study the processes of two software development teams, one a team using eXtreme Programming (XP) and the other a team using a more traditional, waterfall-based development cycle. From the cases a framework for the organization of agile software development is developed. Time pacing, self-management with discipline and routinization of exploration are among the agile enablers found in the cases studies while event pacing, centralized management, and lack of resources allocated to exploration are found to be inhibitors to agility. Emergent capabilities of agile teams that are identified from the research include coevolution of business value, sustainable working with rhythm, sharing and team learning, and collective mindfulness.
Deterministic Pivoting Algorithms for Constrained Ranking and Clustering Problems
Authors: van Zuylen Anke , Williamson David P.
Published: September 2009

We consider ranking and clustering problems related to the aggregation of inconsistent information, in particular, rank aggregation, (weighted) feedback arc set in tournaments, consensus and correlation clustering, and hierarchical clustering. Ailon et al. [Ailon, N., M. Charikar, A. Newman. 2005. Aggregating inconsistent information: Ranking and clustering. Proc. 37th Annual ACM Sympos. Theory Comput. (STOC '05), 684–693], Ailon and Charikar [Ailon, N., M. Charikar. 2005. Fitting tree metrics: Hierarchical clustering and phylogeny. Proc. 46th Annual IEEE Sympos. Foundations Comput. Sci. (FOCS '05), 73–82], and Ailon [Ailon, N. 2007. Aggregation of partial rankings, p-ratings and top-m lists. Proc. 18th Annual ACM-SIAM Sympos. Discrete Algorithms (SODA '07), 415–424] proposed randomized constant factor approximation algorithms for these problems, which recursively generate a solution by choosing a random vertex as “pivot” and dividing the remaining vertices into two groups based on the pivot vertex.

In this paper, we answer an open question in these works by giving deterministic approximation algorithms for these problems. The analysis of our algorithms is simpler than the analysis of the randomized algorithms. In addition, we consider the problem of finding minimum-cost rankings and clusterings that must obey certain constraints (e.g., an input partial order in the case of ranking problems), which were introduced by Hegde and Jain [Hegde, R., K. Jain. 2006. Personal communication]. We show that the first type of algorithms we propose can also handle these constrained problems. In addition, we show that in the case of a rank aggregation or consensus clustering problem, if the input rankings or clusterings obey the constraints, then we can always ensure that the output of any algorithm obeys the constraints without increasing the objective value of the solution.
An Efficient Rescaled Perceptron Algorithm for Conic Systems
Authors: Belloni Alexandre , Freund Robert M. , Vempala Santosh
Published: September 2009

The classical perceptron algorithm is an elementary row-action/relaxation algorithm for solving a homogeneous linear inequality system Ax > 0. A natural condition measure associated with this algorithm is the Euclidean width τ of the cone of feasible solutions, and the iteration complexity of the perceptron algorithm is bounded by 1/τ2 [see Rosenblatt, F. 1962. Principles of Neurodynamics. Spartan Books, Washington, DC]. Dunagan and Vempala [Dunagan, J., S. Vempala. 2007. A simple polynomial-time rescaling algorithm for solving linear programs. Math. Programming 114(1) 101–114] have developed a rescaled version of the perceptron algorithm with an improved complexity of O(n ln (1/τ)) iterations (with high probability), which is theoretically efficient in τ and, in particular, is polynomial time in the bit-length model. We explore extensions of the concepts of these perceptron methods to the general homogeneous conic system Ax ∈ int K, where K is a regular convex cone. We provide a conic extension of the rescaled perceptron algorithm based on the notion of a deep-separation oracle of a cone, which essentially computes a certificate of strong separation. We show that the rescaled perceptron algorithm is theoretically efficient if an efficient deep-separation oracle is available for the feasible region. Furthermore, when K is the cross-product of basic cones that are either half-spaces or second-order cones, then a deep-separation oracle is available and, hence, the rescaled perceptron algorithm is theoretically efficient. When the basic cones of K include semidefinite cones, then a probabilistic deep-separation oracle for K can be constructed that also yields a theoretically efficient version of the rescaled perceptron algorithm.
Random Order Congestion Games
Authors: Penn Michal , Polukarov Maria , Tennenholtz Moshe
Published: September 2009

We introduce a new class of games called random order congestion games (ROCGs). In an ROCG, each player has a task that can be carried out by any element of a set of resources, and each resource executes its assigned tasks in a random order. The aim of each player is to minimize his expected cost, which is the sum of the fixed costs over the set of his utilized resources and the expected cost of his task execution. The cost of a player's task execution is determined by the earliest time his task is completed, and thus it might be beneficial for him to assign his task to several resources. We prove the existence of pure strategy Nash equilibria in ROCGs. Moreover, we present a polynomial time algorithm for finding such an equilibrium in a given ROCG.
Why Do Firms Divest?
Authors: Berry Heather
Published: September 2009

In this paper, I examine how lower-cost production and new market opportunities influence the divestment decisions of firms. I argue that lower-cost production and new market opportunities in foreign markets can provide a better use of existing firm resources and posit that these opportunities are likely to influence firm divestment of home-country operations. The empirical results from a panel of 190 U.S. firms over a 20-year period (1981–2000) show that lower-cost production and new market opportunities influence the divestment decisions of firms. However, the results also reveal several interesting moderating influences on the hypothesized trade-offs and differences across the growth strategies of firms in low- and high-research and development intensive industries. By considering how and when investment in lower-cost production and new market opportunities impacts firm divestment decisions, this study examines divestment not only as a choice managers make when dealing with poor or struggling operations, but also as a response to better opportunities for firm resources in other markets. By focusing on the trade-offs managers make across product and geographic markets, this paper examines the role divestment can play in firm growth and expansion strategies.
Problems Deciding: How the Structure of Make-or-Buy Decisions Leads to Transaction Misalignment
Authors: Bidwell Matthew
Published: September 2009

This paper explores how the structure of decision making affects the way that firms manage their boundaries. Achieving transaction alignment requires firms to balance multiple goals. Drawing on the behavioral theory of the firm, I note that firms often assign different goals to different organizational units. As a consequence, simple problems about whether to make or buy can be affected by multiple decisions taken by multiple, locally rational units. I use a case study of the management of IT consultants in a financial services firm to explore how make-or-buy decisions are made. I find that senior managers at the firm focused on cost and organizational flexibility, whereas frontline managers concentrated on exploiting workers' existing knowledge. The narrow focus of these two groups interacted with the complex demands of transaction alignment to create three problems: separation of related decisions about internal capacity and project staffing, incomplete information when deciding on organizational capacity, and incentive misalignment in staffing consultants. These problems led the firm to become dependent on its consultants. I build on the case study to develop theoretical propositions about the characteristics of decisions and organizational structure that are most likely to lead boundary decisions to deviate from existing predictions.
Attentional Triangulation: Learning from Unexpected Rare Crises
Authors: Rerup Claus
Published: September 2009

Attention to weak cues lies in the eyes of the beholder, but there are ways to entice such cues into collective view. To examine the link between attention to weak cues and learning from rare events, I use longitudinal, qualitative data to develop an attention-based perspective on how organizations learn from a crisis, a specific type of rare event. Learning from a crisis involves understanding why the crisis occurred and developing organizational designs for preventing the crisis from reoccurring. My data illustrate how disparity in attention to issues across the chain of command and the inability to coherently attend to weak signs of danger resulted in an unexpected crisis at Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care. The main contribution of my study is the development of the concept of attentional triangulation, which refers to the intersection of three interdependent dimensions of organizational attention (stability, vividness, and coherence) to identify issues that have the potential of having critical consequences for the organization. I also elaborate on the structures and processes that organizations can enact to facilitate attention triangulation for learning from rare events.
A Concise History of Western Music for Film-makers
Authors: Deutsch Stephen
Published: September 2009

The use of music in films has become almost ubiquitous in both drama and documentary. Music is used regularly in cinema, broadcasting and more recently, in interactive media. Yet audiences often criticise makers for its overuse, especially in actuality television. The problem is not
merely concerned with the volume and placement of music, but of the internal nature and structure of the musical material itself. This article contextualises the history of western music in a way which may be able to help inform film-makers and broadcasters about how music might be used more
advantageously to accompany moving pictures.
Chance Encounters: Serendipity and the Use of Music in the Films of Jean Cocteau and Harry Smith
Authors: Chapman David
Published: September 2009

The exploration of chance as part of the creative process emerged as an increasingly important element in art practice during the twentieth century. It can be regarded as one of many approaches by which the avant-garde expressed its desire to create new forms in opposition to the aesthetic
and conceptual values of the past. Film was not immune to this interest in chance procedures. This article focuses on notions of chance in the context of exploring the relationship between film image and music. More specifically, I discuss Jean Cocteau's method of accidental synchronisation
and Harry Smith's notion of automatic synchronisation, distinctive approaches to the use of music with film predicated on chance procedures. These methods can be viewed in terms of a longer history of experiments with sound, images and colour, that is, as precursors of the light-shows and
multi-media events of the 1960s and other more contemporary media forms. Cocteau and Smith's experiments open up important questions about the processes by which audiences perceive and make sense of music in relation to film.
Patriotic Dissonance: The Soundtrack of Hail the Conquering Hero
Authors: Power Dominic
Published: September 2009

Hail the Conquering Hero is the culmination of the great comedies Preston Sturges wrote and directed for Paramount in the period from 1940 to 1944. This article examines the soundtrack in the first part of the film, and considers how Sturges' deliberate arrangement of sound as
well as diegetic and non-diegetic music enhances and amplifies the ambiguities of Sturges' comedy.
Learning Method for In-Situ Soil Classification Based on Texture Characteristics
Authors: Haddani Younes , Breul Pierre , Bonton Pierre , Gourvès Roland
Published: September 2009

Knowing the nature of a soil through its classification is a key step in understanding its behaviour. In addition to its mechanical properties, information on soil type is important for forecasting material behaviour. This requires laboratory tests that are often long and expensive. Our approach is a development of in-situ identification tests used to complement “blind” mechanical tests. A new method is proposed for obtaining in-situ soil classification based on the use of geo-endoscopy and image analysis. This technique is based on the computation of texture features in geoendoscopic images and, more particularly, second order statistical features. After a presentation of the goals of this research, this article presents the methodology proposed and the learning steps performed to achieve these goals. The second part describes the testing and selection of major textural features according to their performances and their discriminating capacities. In the last part the classification results obtained with this methodology are presented. Soil image classification has been tested successfully and achieves accuracy of over 80 % in classifying natural soil samples. Because of the fixed magnification of the camera, results presented here are strongly linked to this magnification.
Carbonation of Hydrated Portland Cement
Authors: Verbeck G
Published: September 2009

Existing experimental and physicochemical evidence regarding carbonation of the constituents of portland cement is reviewed and indicates that substantially all of the constituents of cement are subject to ultimate carbonation under ideal conditions.

Humidity during exposure to carbon dioxide appears to be a major factor influencing the shrinkage directly produced by carbonation. Concentration of carbon dioxide and size of specimen also have important effects, possibly produced by indirect changes in humidity within the specimen. Increased subsequent volume stability to moisture change was obtained by prior carbonation.

The influence of high-pressure steam curing procedures (temperatures and duration) on some physical properties of cement pastes containing siliceous additions is presented. The amount of water vapor adsorbed at 36 per cent relative humidity is a measure of the amount and nature of the hydration product and is influenced by siliceous additions and decreased during curing at elevated temperatures. This fundamental characteristic of the hydration product is closely related to the elastic modulus, water-loss shrinkage, carbonation shrinkage, degree of carbonation, and water permeability of the paste.

The strict physicochemical significance of the phenolphthalein color test for estimating depth of penetration by carbon dioxide gas is questioned.
The Alkali-Aggregate Phase of Chemical Reactivity in Concrete—Part II: Deleterious Reactions Observed in Field Concrete Structures
Authors: Hester JA , Smith 1 OF
Published: September 2009

Part I of this series2 included several chemical experiments designed to explain and illustrate the reactions between the alkali hydroxides and several types of reactive silica. As a result of these reactions a number of conclusions can be formed; however, the following are the more directly related to the second part of this series.

1. The reaction between alkali and reactive aggregate is greatly aided by the regeneration of the alkali by lime.

2. Reactivity between comparatively low-alkali concentrations and certain types of reactive aggregate will proceed under conditions favorable to the reaction.

3. From a controlled set of mortar bars that were allowed to react for a period of 46 months, analysis showed that the total acid soluble silica in each bar varied directly with the alkali content and the total expansion.

4. By the addition of controlled amounts of certain types of finely divided silica, it is possible to reduce or even eliminate expansion in concrete due to alkali aggregate activity.
The Use of Tri-n-Octylphosphine Oxide in Analytical Chemistry
Authors: White JC
Published: September 2009

Recent discoveries at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have shown that a number of organo-phosphorus compounds are superior in many respects to tributylphosphate in the liquid-liquid extraction of uranium from solutions of its ores and fuel elements. Among these is tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (C8H17)3PO, a stable white crystalline compound, melting point 51 to 51.5 C, boiling point ∼200 to 205 C, 0.1 mm Hg, that is soluble in hydrocarbon solvents. As a consequence of this work, a program was initiated to investigate this general class of compounds as analytical reagents in the separation of other metal ions by liquid-liquid extraction. This report summarizes the data obtained in studies with tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO).
Electron Beam Microanalyzer: A New Tool for Electron Device Development
Authors: Hayes J. S.
Published: September 2009

Electron beam microanalysis has been one of the major advances in new analytical techniques developed during the last twelve years. About 1949 the first operating electron beam microanalyzer was constructed by Raymond Castaing (1), a student of Professor Andre Guinier at the Office Nationale d'Études et Recherches Aeronautiques in France. In the United States, development of microanalyzers began at the California Inst. of Technology and the Naval Research Laboratory. There are more than 40 instruments in operation throughout the world, not counting Russia. Commercial equipment can be obtained from eight different manufacturers (2). Short courses on its use have been given at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A brief bibliography summarizing technical aspects was prepared for this course (3).