bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
La version chinoise de l'islam
Authors: Aubin Françoise
Published: July 2009

Le frisson que, fort de ses traditions chrétiennes et utilitaristes, un Français du xxe siècle ne manque pas d'éprouver devant chaque avatar de l'islam mondial n'est pas son seul fait. Ne voit-on pas déjà, vers 1867, un bouddhologue russe (V. P. Vasil'ev, 1818–1900) tenter d'attirer l'attention du monde chrétien sur le péril d'engloutissement dont il voyait menacé celui-ci par une Chine prête à sombrer, croyait-il, dans l'islamisme ? À l'époque où rien ne semblait arrêter l'expansion triomphante de l'empire russe à travers une Asie centrale endormie (Tashkent est conquis en 1865, Bukhara et Khiva en 1873), les grands soulèvements musulmans de l'Ouest chinois — au Kansu, dans l'actuel Ninghsia, au Yünnan — paraissaient, eux, lancés pour propager leur incendie d'une communauté musulmane à l'autre, jusqu'aux extrémités de l'empire chinois et au-delà. Les prédictions du savant russe se sont finalement avérées, dix ans plus tard, fausses de bout en bout. Noyé dans des flots de sang, l'islam cessait, à partir de 1876, d'être un problème pour le trône des Ch'ing [Qing]; et la Chine impériale, ainsi que la Chine républicaine qui allait suivre, était bien incapable de déferler sur le monde chrétien.
Friendship and trust as moral ideals: an historical approach
Authors: Silver Allan
Published: July 2009

It is not peculiar to modern society that ideals of friendship express some of the ‘noblest’ potentials of human association. But an ideal of friendship so contrary to the forms of association that dominate the larger society is distinctive to our times. Explicit contract, rational exchange, formal division of labor, and impersonal institutions define the Great Society; by inversion, they also define those ideals constituting friendship understood at its morally best. Especially in the urban core of Western society, particularly its more educated sectors, friendships are judged of high quality to the extent that they invert the ways of the larger society. In this ideal, friendships are voluntary, unspecialized, informal and private. They are grounded in open-ended commitments without explicit provision for their termination—unlike contractual relations, prior stipulation of the conditions that legitimately end a friendship cannot be constitutive of friendship. In such an ideal, friendships are diminished in moral quality if terms of exchange between friends are consciously or scrupulously monitored, for this implies that utilities derived from friendships are constitutive, as in market relations, rather than valued as expressions of personal intentions and commitments.
How ‘unique’ should the military be?: A review of representative literature & outline of a synthetic formulation
Authors: Boëne Bernard
Published: July 2009

Central to the study of ‘armed forces and society’, whether the approach be that of sociology, political science or legal doctrine, is the question of how unique the military really is—and ought to be. Over the last four decades or so, a number of authors have evinced keen interest in, and written more or less extensively on such matters as the objective, normative and subjective dimensions of military life, functional, structural and cultural features of military organization, civil-military relations, and the patterns of long-term change affecting them.
Le don de sperme: les problèmes de justice distributive que pose I'insémination artificielle avec donneur
Authors: Herpin Nicolas
Published: July 2009

La procréation médicalement assistée (PMA) est un domaine en expansion retardée. La pression sociale est forte pour empêcher toute la demande potentielle de s'exprimer. Quand elle s'exprime, une partie seulement est entendue, au nom de principes éthiques. Enfin, certaines ressources essentielles sont artificiellement raréfiées : les paillettes de sperme, nécessaires dans les inséminations avec un donneur autre que le conjoint.
The politics of language: Republican values and Breton identity
Authors: Meadwell Hudson
Published: July 2009

Among other things, the revolutionary period in France is notorious for two practices: the development of a civil religion and a project of linguistic standardization. The substitution of republican for religious symbols, the creation of public space for republican worship, the hostility towards intermediary bodies, all of this sought to ground a more direct relationship between the citizen and the republic. At the same time, the new order sought to consolidate its control of the church. An oath of loyalty to the republic was required from priests, as part of a plan to make priests functionaries of the state. The protest evoked, and its association with counterrevolution, however, produced equivocation on the part of regimes until the Concordat, which acknowledged the place of Catholicism in French society, without providing official recognition as the state religion, and which sought to monitor the activity of the clergy.
‘In the beginning was the Word…’ The symbols of the mafia
Authors: Gambetta Diego
Published: July 2009

Most expressions and symbols associated with the mafia—indeed, the term mafia itself—are made up of an almost surrealist cocktail of bogus and genuine sources, mythical and prosaic characters, fiction and reality. Already in 1876, Franchetti was puzzling over ‘the tendency to turn a mafioso into a legendary type, a feeling natural enough indeed in a professor of literature, but much harder to explain in wealthy landowners…’ (p. 34).
Rationality and social norms
Authors: Elster Jon
Published: July 2009

One of the most persisting cleavages in the social sciences is the opposition between two lines of thought conveniently associated with Adam Smith and Émile Durkheim, betweenhomo economicusandhomo sociologicus. Of these, the former is supposed to be guided by instrumental rationality, while the behavior of the latter is dictated by social norms. The former is ‘pulled’ by the prospect of future rewards, whereas the latter is ‘pushed’ from behind by quasi-inertial forces (Gambetta 1987). The former adapts to changing circumstances, always on the lookout for improvements. The latter is insensitive to circumstances, adhering to the prescribed behavior even if new and apparently better options become available. The former is easily caricatured as a self-contained, asocial atom, and the latter as the mindless plaything of social forces. In this paper I characterize this contrast more fully, and discuss attempts to reduce norm-oriented action to some type of optimizing behavior.
Religion and nationality in Antiquity: the worship of Yahweh and ancient Israel
Authors: Grosby Steven
Published: July 2009

There is a particularly interesting, important, and, I think, generally unacknowledged cleavage within the study of theGeist, cultural history,Geisteswissenschaften, the human sciences, sociology or whatever term you employ. This deserves our consideraion.
Discourse and Morality: two case studies of social conflicts in a segmentary and a functionally differentiated society
Authors: Miller Max
Published: July 2009

No sociologist was more concerned with morality and the interrelation between morality and society than Émile Durkheim; and at least sociological approaches to understand morality can be expected to clarify whether and to what extent they are willing to follow Durkheim's account.
Constitutions and the struggle for political order: a study in the modernization of political traditions
Authors: Arjomand Saïd Amir
Published: July 2009

The constitutions of the last two centuries are monuments to an eminently modern enterprise: the reconstruction of the political order by rational human effort. Constitution-making is a deliberate attempt at institution-building at the fundamental level of laying down the normative and legal foundations of the political order. Framing a constitution always purports to be an act of foundation; an act intended to break with the past, and with the existing cultural and institutional traditions, in which principled discussions take the place of everyday horse-trading in politics.
A community-based theory of rebellion
Authors: Petersen Roger
Published: July 2009

Much literature has been written on why men rebel. However, the whole of human history can be characterized as a reason for why men rebel; the last four thousand years have presented us with one sorry set of oppression and exploitation after another. Basically, normal life for human beings has consisted of small groups of people taking advantage of larger groups of people. The real puzzle is why the larger groups of people don't rebel against the smaller groups of people more often. Perhaps the most important question is not why men rebel, but how they rebel. How does an individual gain the confidence or courage to take the tremendous risks involved in a rebellion? How does a rebellion sustain itself against the powers of the established regime?
Patterns of militarism in Israel
Authors: Kimmerling Baruch
Published: July 2009

Most of the subjects concerned with Israel, such as the location of the military and militaristic culture, are heavily distorted in comparison to other themes prevalant in the discourse and the debates in the social sciences, very much like the other issues linked with the Jewish-Arab conflict and Jewish-Arab relations (Kimmerling, 1992). Ideological and value loaded considerations blur the issue, making even the usage of the term ‘militarism’ in the canonical textbooks a taboo in Israel. The main purpose of this paper is three-fold: 1) to present a brief survey of the present state of the literature on so-called ‘civil-military relations’ in Israel, from which 2) a revision can be made of the overall impact of the Jewish-Arab conflict and the militarization of Israeli society. This will be followed by 3) a reformulation of the effect of militarization on the institutional and value spheres of the Israeli collectivity.
Class inequality and the formation of political interests in Eastern Europe
Authors: Evans Geoffrey
Published: July 2009

Class inequality provides fertile ground for the development of class divisions in political interests. Post-communist societies display evidence of such inequality and — despite expectations to the contrary — of its correlates: high levels of class identification, perceived relative deprivation between classes, and links between class position and economic expectations. These aspects of class formation are in turn accompanied by the endorsement of divergent political programmes by social classes. Marketisation is thus providing the conditions under which classrelated, ‘left-right’ divisions reminiscent of those in Western democracies, structure politics in Eastern Europe.
La patience russe entre stratégie et impuissance : quelques remarques complémentaires
Authors: Coenen-Huther Jacques
Published: July 2009

In a previous edition of the Archives, Vladimir Shlapentokh proposed an explanation of the surprising patience of the Russian people in the face of a drop in the standard of living of a majority of the population. Obervations made in the Altaï territory confirm Shlapentokh's explication. Using individual adaptation categories as formulated by Merton, it is shown how the different adaptation strategies cancelled each other out and impeded the emergence of an opposition movement.
Ethnic conflict, social science and William Butler Yeats: A Commentary on Russell Hardin's
Authors: Petersen Roger
Published: July 2009

Hardin argues that ethnic conflicts can be analysed without reference to individual emotions, by using 3 parameters: the initiative of certain elites, the use of exclusive norms, and a good dose of epistemological perversity, admired if not shared. Beyond a certain critical mass, the mixture becomes explosive. Yeats' biography illustrates these arguments: Yeats' own emotions hardly weigh up against forces which cause him to be moved and create his emotion.
Promises fulfilled? A review of 20 years of life course research
Authors: Mayer Karl Ulrich
Published: July 2009

Empirical life course research is based on prospective or retrospective longitudinal micro data and nationally representative samples of birth cohorts or larger populations. This field of research has developed since the 1970s as one of the major social science instruments of studying the dynamics of both individual lives and societies. The paper reviews critically the contributions of life course studies by comparing the initial expectations with practices and results during the last twenty years.
Middle-range realism
Authors: Pawson Ray
Published: July 2009

This paper proposes a liaison —‘middle-range realism’—between two long standing explanatory strategies in sociology— ‘middle-range theory’ and ‘realist social theory’. Each offers what the other lacks. Middle-range theory carries an acute sense of the function of theory within empirical inquiry but has left undeveloped any notion of its appropriate explanatory form. Realist social theory has propositional precision but has been unable, in the most part, to descend from a critical domain to the empirical plane. Middlerange realism thus offers a research strategy of the appropriate form and scope to lead and to federate empirical inquiry. Examples are provided of how middle-range realism can be applied to improve research using two different strategies (survey methods and evaluation research) in two contrasting substantive areas (voting behaviour and offender rehabilitation).
« Concessions » ou avant-gardes : les zones économiques spéciales en Chine
Authors: Shuo Yu
Published: July 2009

The conflict of values of civilisations and the paradoxes of the history of Chinese modernisation appeared on a small parcel of land 18 years ago. This extensive study of Shekou has brought to light the social, economic, political and cultural stakes which underlie the recent metamorphoses of the country, notably of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as the ambiguities and time-space lags of these metamorphoses. This article looks to reconstruct this historical process in the perspective of Chinese thought.
Le laboratoire entre équipes et réseaux. Poids des techniques et conflits de légitimités
Authors: Amiot Michel
Published: July 2009

This study was conducted through interviews with a sample of researchers from French laboratories. It has brought to light two main themes which are interlinked: (i) all laboratories which reach a certain level of development are laboured by a diversification of their teams which tends to compartmentalise them; (2) this compartmentalisation is offset. The laboratory is thus the level at which one finds and manages the problem of unity posed by the compartmentalisation of teams which are open to the whole scientific field.

The nature of networks depends mainly on two variables: the weight of instrumentation and the degree of unification of problematics or thematics. Weakly integrated networks are found in those disciplines which use technologies which are easily disseminated because of their low cost, as well as those disciplines which have low degrees of theoretical unification. Nuclear physics and astrophysics are examples of the most integrated networks. A division of labour has recently developed in molecular genetics which has become de localised between different laboratory teams. We can describe these networks as paradoxical.
Peut-on lire en français L'Éthique protestante et L'esprit du capitalisme?
Authors: Grossein Jean-Pierre
Published: July 2009

A scrupulous analysis of the French translation of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism reveals an acculumation of errors which seriously alter Weber's analysis in its nodal articulations (articulation of relations of causality and affinity, intrication of ideas and interests, schemes of mediation between beliefs and behaviour). The same problem arises in relation to its central conceptual mechanism (concepts of profession-vocation, of life style, of confirmation) and in relation to its theological lexicon. The analysis concludes with the urgent necessity for a new translation.
Frustration and preference change in international migration
Authors: Mackie Gerry
Published: July 2009

Given equal income incentives, why does migration from poor countries to rich countries vary ? I apply Boudon's logic of relative frustration and Elster's model of interactions among desire, opportunity and action to interpret sociological findings on the self-sustaining nature of the migration process. I conclude that migration does not occur in the absence of initial opportunity, but that once begun tbe migration process itself increases, both the opportunity and the desire to migrate.
Die Rekrutierung von Topmanagern in Europa
Authors: Hartmann Michael
Published: July 2009

Seventy-five to eighty per cent of the ruling elites of the three main European nations (France, Great Britain and Germany) are drawn from the middle classes, and their social recruitment has hardly changed over the last 2j years. According to the author, Bourdieu's theory of class habitus and the role of cultural capital is thus strongly confirmed, refuting the common argument that the world of elites is opening up.
The powerful consequences of being too weak. The impact of immigration on democratic regimes
Authors: Zincone Giovanna
Published: July 2009

Common fears about immigration have little basis, such as the fear of being displaced by alien labour or invaded by fundamentalist mobs. Others have some basis, such as those concerning illegal behaviour or the magnitude of inflows, at least in some countries. However the profile of our European democracies may, unless certain policies are pursued, be doomed to change for the worse, not because of these commonly feared dangers but in consequence of the increasing number of workers who do not enjoy basic political, civil and social rights.
Political unity and linguistic diversity in Europe
Authors: Kraus Peter A.
Published: July 2009

The paper seeks to assess the consequences of cultural diversity for European polity-building by focusing on the language issue. What does the European Babel mean for the project of transnational political integration ? To what extent has the shaping of the European language regime become a declared goal on the agenda of the EU ? In contrast with precedent patterns of nation-state formation, the present situation in Europe offers only few reasons to believe that some cultural standardization could be achieved by putting major political restrictions on multilingualism. Deliberate attempts at setting the institutional foundations of a culturally integrated European public sphere may end up producing unintended outcomes and lead to anti- European mobilizations striving for the protection of cultural difference. Hence, a political community of Europeans will not be based on a unitary and homogeneous public sphere, but rather reflect a complex mosaic of different cultural identities with cross-cutting political loyalties. In this context, cultural and linguistic diversity will be institutionalized, institutionalized, but to varying degrees and with different implications at different political levels.
Fine-scale habitat selection by white-beaked and common dolphins in the Minch (Scotland, UK): evidence for interspecific competition or coexistence?
Authors: Weir Caroline R. , Macleod Colin D. , Calderan Susannah V.
Published: July 2009

A decline in white-beaked dolphins Lagenorhynchus albirostris had been reported in the Minch (Scotland, UK) since the 1990s, coinciding with an increasing occurrence of short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis. This has led to suggestions that rising seawater temperatures are causing D. delphis to out-compete and exclude L. albirostris in this region. A total of 793 km (66.3 hours) of survey data were collected in the Minch during August 2007, to examine fine-scale habitat selection by L. albirostris and D. delphis and investigate whether their ecological overlap is sufficient to result in interspecific competition and/or habitat partitioning. Ten sightings of L. albirostris (70 animals) were recorded in a relatively small spatial area in the northern Minch. In contrast, the eleven sightings of D. delphis (1486 animals) were more widely distributed. The relative abundance per 1/4 ICES rectangle ranged from 0.41 to 0.53 animals/km for L. albirostris and 0.13 to 6.68 animals/km for D. delphis. The mean group size and group body mass were higher for D. delphis than for L. albirostris indicating D. delphis as the dominant delphinid in the Minch during August. Lagenorhynchus albirostris occurred in waters significantly deeper and further from shore than D. delphis, suggesting interspecific differences in preferred habitat. Most dolphin schools were recorded as foraging/feeding. Behaviour and seabird associations indicated that the two species differed in diet and/or foraging strategy, with L. albirostris foraging sub-surface and D. delphis exhibiting surface-feeding with associated gannets Morus bassanus. This is consistent with published information on the stomach contents of Scottish animals. The results suggest that there are subtle differences in habitat selection and diet between these two species, which may enable L. albirostris and D. delphis to coexist in the Minch. Whether these differences result from niche partitioning arising from previous/ongoing interspecific competition or are the result of genuine differences in the habitat preferences of each species, remains unclear.
Past and recent sperm whales sightings in the Azores based on catches and whale watching information
Authors: Vieira N. , Brito C.
Published: July 2009

The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, was the most captured great whale in the Azores Archipelago by land-based whaling and nowadays is the most appealing species for whale watching, one of the archipelago's principal sources of tourism. Our objective was to compare number of sightings during whaling and whale watching activities. Our main question to address the possible impact of past whaling in recent whale watching is: does a present-day eco-tourist sight more or fewer sperm whales than a whaler could sight in the past? For that, a compilation of data resulting both from past whaling records and recent whale watching records was conducted. We obtained a total of 727 independent sightings of sperm whales during a total of 280 different days of sperm whaling between 1947 and 1973. A total of 1767 sperm whale sightings were made during 1133 days of whale watching activities, between 1997 and 2008. The sperm whale sighting per unit of effort average was significantly higher in the past (35.68) than in the present (12.06). In the Azores, captures over the decades greatly decreased the number of sperm whales in the region and twenty years after the end of sperm whaling a reduced number of recent sightings were found.
Lowering topological entropy over subsets
Authors: HUANG WEN , YE XIANGDONG , ZHANG GUOHUA
Published: July 2009

Let (X,T) be a topological dynamical system (TDS), and h(T,K) the topological entropy of a subset K of X. (X,T) is lowerable if for each 0≤h≤h(T,X) there is a non-empty compact subset with entropy h; it is hereditarily lowerable if each non-empty compact subset is lowerable; it is hereditarily uniformly lowerable if for each non-empty compact subset K and each 0≤h≤h(T,K) there is a non-empty compact subset Kh⊆K with h(T,Kh)=h and Kh has at most one limit point. It is shown that each TDS with finite entropy is lowerable, and that a TDS (X,T) is hereditarily uniformly lowerable if and only if it is asymptotically h-expansive.
A sectional-Anosov connecting lemma
Authors: BAUTISTA S. , MORALES C.
Published: July 2009

The Anosov flows on compact manifolds M satisfy the following property: if p,q are points such that for all positive ϵ there is a trajectory from a point ϵ-close to p to a point ϵ-close to q, then there is a point whose α-limit set is that of p and whose ω-limit set is that of q. Here we give a version of this property for sectional-Anosov flows, namely, vector fields inwardly transverse to the boundary whose maximal invariant set is sectional-hyperbolic. Indeed, if in addition M is three-dimensional and p has non-singular α-limit set, then there is a point whose α-limit set is that of p and whose ω-limit set is either a singularity or that of q.
A brief remark on orbits of SL(2,ℤ) in the Euclidean plane
Authors: GUILLOUX ANTONIN
Published: July 2009

The repartition of dense orbits of lattices in the Euclidean plane were described by Ledrappier and Nogueira. We present here an elementary description of the gaps appearing in the experimentations. The main idea behind this description is to see the Euclidean plane as the space of (upper triangular) unipotent orbits in SL(2,ℝ). We conclude with the remark that this analysis may be carried on in much more general settings.
Iteration of certain meromorphic functions with unbounded singular values
Authors: NAYAK TARAKANTA , PRASAD M. GURU PREM
Published: July 2009

Let ℳ={f(z)=(zm/sinhm z) for z∈ℂ∣ either m or m/2 is an odd natural number}. For eachf∈ℳ, the set of singularities of the inverse function offis an unbounded subset of the real line ℝ. In this paper, the iteration of functions in one-parameter family 𝒮={fλ(z)=λf(z)∣λ∈ℝ∖{0}} is investigated for eachf∈ℳ. It is shown that, for eachf∈ℳ, there is a critical parameterλ*>0 depending onfsuch that a period-doubling bifurcation occurs in the dynamics of functionsfλin 𝒮 when the parameter |λ| passes throughλ*. The non-existence of Baker domains and wandering domains in the Fatou set offλis proved. Further, it is shown that the Fatou set offλis infinitely connected for 0<∣λ∣≤λ*whereas for ∣λ∣≥λ*, the Fatou set offλconsists of infinitely many components and each component is simply connected.
Horizon scanning of new and emerging medical technology in Australia: Its relevance to Medical Services Advisory Committee health technology assessments and public funding
Authors: O'Malley Sue P. , Jordan Ernest
Published: July 2009

Objectives:In 1998, a formal process using full health technology assessments (HTAs) was implemented to determine the suitability for public subsidy of new and emerging medical technologies in the Australian private healthcare sector. This process is overseen by the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC). In 2004, horizon scanning was introduced in Australia with the stated objective of identifying new and emerging medical technologies into the public healthcare sector, with consideration to the publicly subsidized private healthcare sector. How well horizon scanning works in identifying new and emerging technologies suitable for government subsidized funding in the private healthcare sector is examined in this study.

Methods:A descriptive evaluation of the impact of horizon scanning as an early alert and awareness system identifying new and emerging technologies before these technologies are submitted to MSAC for a full HTA. All MSAC HTAs commenced after the introduction of horizon scanning in 2004 were cross-checked with the list of Prioritizing Summaries or Horizon Scanning Reports to determine whether a prior Prioritizing Summary or Horizon Scanning Report had been carried out.

Results:Of the forty-three technologies that were the subject of a full MSAC HTAs in the time period examined, only eleven had been the subject of either a Prioritizing Summary or Horizon Scanning Report. As a result of a full MSAC HTA, twelve of the technologies that were not the subject of a Prioritizing Summary or Horizon Scanning Report were given positive recommendations for public funding.

Conclusions:Horizon scanning was set up to scan the introduction of new and emerging medical technologies into the public healthcare sector, with consideration to the publicly subsidized private healthcare sector. Based on the number of new and emerging technologies that have been the subject of a full MSAC HTA without first being subjected to either a Prioritizing Summary or Horizon Scanning Report, horizon scanning in Australia does not function as an “early alert and awareness system” for funding in the publicly subsidized private healthcare sector in Australia.
A cost-effectiveness analysis of a community-based diabetes prevention program in Sweden
Authors: Johansson Pia , Östenson Claes-Göran , Hilding Agneta M. , Andersson Camilla , Rehnberg Clas , Tillgren Per
Published: July 2009

Objectives:Lifestyle changes to prevent type 2 diabetes among high-risk persons have been shown to be cost-effective. This study investigates the cost-effectiveness of a community-based program promoting general population lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes.

Methods:The 10-year program was implemented in three municipalities in Sweden. Effectiveness was measured with a quasiexperimental cohort design, that is, risk factor levels in a population group aged 36–56 years at baseline and 8–10 years later (2,149 men; 3,092 women) in the program municipalities and a control area were compared. The incremental cost-utility analysis included future diabetes and cardiovascular disease-related health effects and societal costs (discounted 3 percent), estimated by a Markov model.

Results:In all areas, risk factor levels increased during follow-up, leading to increased societal costs of between SEK40,000 and 90,000 (1 Euro 2004 = SEK9.13; 1 US$ = SEK 7.35) and quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) losses between 0.12 and 0.48 per individual. Compared with the control area, the cost increases and QALY losses for women were more favorable in two program areas but less favorable in one, and less favorable for men in both areas (data unavailable for one municipality). The findings indicate that the program was cost-effective in only two female study groups.

Conclusions:Conflicting results on the cost-effectiveness of the program were obtained. As several potentially valuable aspects of the program are not included in the cost-effectiveness analysis, the societal value of the program might not be adequately reflected.
Percutaneous pulmonary and aortic valve insertion in Belgium: Going for conditional reimbursement or waiting for further evidence?
Authors: Neyt Mattias , Vinck Imgard , Gewillig Marc , Van Brabandt Hans
Published: July 2009

Objectives:The aim of this study was to assess current evidence supporting the use of percutaneous heart valves (PHV) in degenerative aortic valve and congenital pulmonary outflow tract disease, as compared to conservative medical therapy or traditional surgical valve replacement.

Methods:A systematic review of the literature on PHV was performed.

Results:No randomized controlled trials (RCT) on PHV have been published so far. Only observational data from series and data presented at cardiology meetings are available. Both percutaneous aortic valve (PAV) and percutaneous pulmonary valve (PPV) seem feasible in the hands of an experienced team. Safety, however, seems to be a problem in PAV, as shown by the high 30-day and 6-month mortality rates.

Conclusions:Due to safety concerns, PAV reimbursement is not recommended and patients should only be subjected to PAV insertion within the boundaries of an RCT. In contrast, PPV implantation seems to be a safe and promising technology for which reimbursement under strict conditions may be recommended.
Surrogate outcomes in health technology assessment: An international comparison
Authors: Garrido Marcial Velasco , Mangiapane Sandra
Published: July 2009

Objectives:Our aim was to review the recommendations given by health technology assessment (HTA) institutions in their methodological guidelines concerning the use of surrogate outcomes in their assessments. In a second step, we aimed at quantifying the role surrogate parameters take in assessment reports.

Methods:We analyzed methodological papers and guidelines from HTA agencies with International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment membership as well as from institutions related to pharmaceutical regulation (i.e., reimbursement, pricing). We analyzed the use of surrogate outcomes in a sample of HTA reports randomly drawn from the HTA database. We checked methods, results (including evidence tables), and conclusions sections and extracted the outcomes reported. We report descriptive statistics on the presence of surrogate outcomes in the reports.

Results:We identified thirty-four methodological guidelines, twenty of them addressing the issue of outcome parameter choice and the problematic of surrogate outcomes. Overall HTA agencies call on caution regarding the reliance on surrogate outcomes. None of the agencies has provided a list or catalog of acceptable and validated surrogate outcomes. We extracted the outcome parameter of 140 HTA reports. Only around half of the reports determined the outcomes for the assessment prospectively. Surrogate outcomes had been used in 62 percent of the reports. However, only 3.6 percent were based upon surrogate outcomes exclusively. All of them assessed diagnostic or screening technologies and the surrogate outcomes were predominantly test characteristics.

Conclusions: HTA institutions seem to agree on a cautious approach to the use of surrogate outcomes in technology assessment. Thorough assessment of health technologies should not rely exclusively on surrogate outcomes.
A successful practical application of Coverage with Evidence Development in Australia: Medical Services Advisory Committee interim funding and the PillCam® Capsule Endoscopy Register
Authors: O'Malley Sue P. , Selby Warwick S. , Jordan Ernest
Published: July 2009

Background:In August 2002, an application for the listing on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) of PillCam® Capsule Endoscopy (formally M2A®) as a diagnostic procedure for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) was made to the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC). As a result of this application, in May 2004 PillCam® Capsule Endoscopy was approved with interim funding until April 2007. This funding was conditional on the collection of Australian data on the long-term safety, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of capsule endoscopy.

Methods:A review was conducted of how the data were collected, the methodological difficulties associated with the collection and analysis of the data, and the outcomes of the data.

Results:The PillCam® Capsule Endoscopy Register ran from 2004 to 2007 and amassed data on 4,099 patients forming the largest database on PillCam® in the world. Based on these data, in November 2007, MSAC recommended that full public funding be supported under the current MBS Item Number 11820 as capsule endoscopy is as safe as and more effective than comparable diagnostic tests. It is the preferred choice of patients and has the potential to reduce the number and cost of previous investigations.

Conclusions:This form of CED proved to be ideally suited to PillCam® Capsule Endoscopy. The PillCam® Capsule Endoscopy Register provided data that made it possible to validate assumptions used in the economic modeling in the assessment carried out for MSAC in response to the application for funding.

Discussion: The use of interim funding requires both risk and cost sharing among the key players: industry, government, the medical profession, and the hospitals. Although the characteristics of PillCam® Capsule Endoscopy proved to be suited to data collection, this may not be the case with other emerging health technologies. If interim funding coupled with data collection is to become an effective mechanism for bridging the evidence gap, work needs to be carried out by health technology assessment agencies to provide guidance on the design of registers so that they cater for the unique characteristics of individual procedures.
One-Year Follow-up of a Parent Management Training for Children with Externalizing Behaviour Problems in the Real World
Authors: Hautmann Christopher , Hoijtink Herbert , Eichelberger Ilka , Hanisch Charlotte , Plück Julia , Walter Daniel , Döpfner Manfred
Published: July 2009

Background: The long-term effectiveness of parent training for children with externalizing behaviour problems under routine care within the German health care system is unclear. We report the 1-year follow-up results of the parent training component of the Prevention Program for Externalizing Problem Behaviour (PEP) for 270 children aged 3–10 years with externalizing behaviour problems. Method: Outcome measures included child behaviour problems (externalizing behaviour problems, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms and Oppositional Defiant Disorder symptoms) and parenting (self efficacy of parenting and perceived ability to solve difficult parenting situations). Data were analysed using multilevel modelling. Results: Comparison of the changes during the 3-month waiting and treatment periods revealed significantly stronger treatment effects on all outcome measures, indicating a substantial decrease in child behaviour problems and a significant increase in parenting due to treatment. At 1-year follow-up, initial treatment effects on child behaviour problems were maintained, while parenting continued to improve. Conclusions: Families whose children exhibited externalizing problem behaviour profit from PEP and improvements are maintained for at least one year.
S velocity variations beneath North America
Authors: Bedle Heather , van der Lee Suzan
Published: July 2009

We investigate S velocity variation in the upper mantle beneath North American to better understand the effects of data heterogeneity, model parameterization, and regularization. To this end, we analyzed and fit regional S and Rayleigh wave trains generated by earthquakes around North America that occurred between the years 2000 through 2006, including waveforms from the Transportable Array stations of EarthScope's USArray. These new data were combined with constraints used for the 3‐D S velocity model NA04 in order to create a new model, NA07. Another model, , was created from a suite of good‐fit models to provide a useful guide for model velocities and uncertainties by estimating ranges of probable velocity variations throughout the upper mantle. We find that the southern and eastern edges of the North American craton appear to be defined by Paleozoic orogens rather than Proterozoic ones. On average, the Archean portion of the craton is ∼200 km thick, while the Paleozoic part averages ∼175 km thick with an ∼80 m/s lower S velocity. The horizontal gradients in velocity are over ∼1.0%/100 km at the western margin of the craton, ∼0.5%/100 km in the south, and ∼1%/100 km at the eastern margin.
Influence of the Columbia River plume on cross‐shelf transport of zooplankton
Authors: Peterson Jay O. , Peterson William T.
Published: July 2009

A high‐resolution sampling strategy along a cross‐shelf transect near the mouth of the Columbia River was used to determine the distribution, abundance, and spatial relationship between plankton and a tidally modulated river plume. During a strong ebb tide, zooplankton‐sized particles were concentrated on the seaward side of the plume front and transported 15 km across the shelf at a rate of 38 cm s−1, roughly fivefold faster than typical wind‐driven transport in the region. Physical processes associated with the developing plume vertically depressed relatively dense layers of phytoplankton and zooplankton an average of 7 m deeper into the water column beneath the plume and up to 10 km beyond the extent of the plume front. The enhanced cross‐shelf transport by the Columbia River plume is unique for this region of the Northern California Current. Its impact on the vertical and horizontal distribution of zooplankton shifts prey availability for higher trophic levels, such as larval fish, that primarily feed in the upper water column.
Sources of gravity waves in the lower stratosphere above South Pole
Authors: Li Z. , Robinson W. , Liu A. Z.
Published: July 2009

Five‐year (2001–2005) high‐resolution radiosonde data were processed to obtain the gravity wave (GW) variabilities in the lower stratosphere over South Pole (SP). Our results show that GW activities in the lowermost section (10–15 km) are strongest in May and September and weakest in the austral summer, whereas in the altitude range of 15–25 km, strongest/weakest GW kinetic energy is observed around September/January. We also explored the relationships of GWs to the synoptic‐scale variations in the troposphere and the ageostrophic motions in the upper troposphere over the Antarctic, which are expected to be significant mechanisms for GW generation. A ray‐tracing model (GROGRAT) was used to explore the relationship between GW propagation and the background field. In the altitude of 15–25 km, the annual cycle of GW activity resembles that of adjustment process. Below 15 km, the annual cycle of GW activity has two peaks in May and September. Our analysis suggests that these two peaks are due to the variation of topographic GW generation and filtering of background atmosphere. Due to critical‐level filtering in the lowermost section, topographic GWs cannot propagate upward, which makes the shape of GW annual cycle at higher altitudes closer to the annual cycle of adjustment processes. The analysis suggests that the minimum of GW activity at SP during the austral summer may be due to the combination of weaker wave generation from adjustment processes associated with synoptic‐scale systems, flow over topography, and unfavorable background field for GW propagation.
Estimations of charge transferred and energy released by lightning flashes
Authors: Maggio Christopher R. , Marshall Thomas C. , Stolzenburg Maribeth
Published: July 2009

Data from ground‐based and balloon‐borne electric field meters are used in conjunction with lightning mapping array data to estimate the amount of charge transferred and energy liberated by 40 lightning flashes in four New Mexico mountain thunderstorms. Two models are developed to estimate the lightning charge transfer: point charges at the geometric center of two or more lightning charge distributions, and uniform charge distributions placed along the lightning channels. Results indicate that flashes with substantial horizontal extent, primarily intracloud (IC) flashes during the storm's mature stage, are better modeled with uniform charge distributions. Less extensive flashes, both cloud‐to‐ground (CG) and early‐stage IC flashes, are better modeled with point charges. The amount of charge transferred by 29 IC flashes ranged from ±3.9 to ±85.8 C, with an average of ±17.6 C. Mature‐stage IC flashes transfer significantly more charge, on average, than early‐stage IC flashes. The 11 CG flashes transferred negative charge to the ground; the average amount of charge lowered was −8.7 C. All but one CG flash also had substantial in‐cloud charge transfers (average ±9.3 C, maximum ±44 C) in addition to the charge moved to the ground. Individual lightning charge transfers are combined with concurrent in‐cloud potentials to estimate the electrical energy released by each flash. The IC flashes released an average of 1.6 GJ of energy per flash, while the average for CG flashes was about half as much energy per flash. Using average charge and potential values for the group of storms yields lightning energy estimates of 2 × 108 to 7 × 109 J, depending on flash type and storm stage.
Two‐dimensional turbulence, space shuttle plume transport in the thermosphere, and a possible relation to the Great Siberian Impact Event
Authors: Kelley M. C. , Seyler C. E. , Larsen M. F.
Published: July 2009

During two solstices, Stevens et al. [2003, 2005] presented satellite and ground‐based observations that indicated that the water vapor plume from the space shuttle's main engine rapidly expanded and moved quickly to the summer pole. Once there, the water vapor plume condensed into large noctilucent cloud displays. Here we present a hypothesis for the plume's rapid transport and anomalous horizontal diffusion. We argue that this system is two‐dimensionally turbulent, which has the property of inverse cascade. This energy transport to large scales explains the poleward transport, and the well‐known system properties explain the anomalous diffusion. Additionally, we apply these results to the aftermath of the 1908 Great Siberian Impact Event, when extremely bright night skies were observed in Great Britain during the days following the impact. The impacting object must have contained considerable ice and thus, was very likely a comet.
Assimilative modeling of equatorial plasma depletions observed by C/NOFS
Authors: Su Y.‐J. , Retterer J. M. , de La Beaujardière O. , Burke W. J. , Roddy P. A. , Pfaff R. F. , Wilson G. R. , Hunton D. E.
Published: July 2009

Using electric field measurements as inputs, the assimilative physics‐based ionospheric model (PBMOD) successfully reproduced density depletions observed at early morning local times during four consecutive orbits of the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite on 17 June 2008. However, the PBMOD running with plasma drift data from empirical models as inputs predicted neither plasma depletions nor irregularities on this day. Coincident over flights of a large depletion by C/NOFS and the DMSP‐F17 satellite allow estimates of its longitudinal and latitudinal scale sizes. The satellite‐based estimates are shown to be in reasonable agreement with PBMOD predictions. The model's reproduction of observed temporal and spatial distributions of plasma depletions suggests that our assimilative technique can be used to enhance space‐weather forecasts.
Analysis of point defects in AlN epilayers by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy
Authors: Bastek Barbara , Bertram Frank , Christen Juergen , Hempel Thomas , Dadgar Armin , Krost Alois
Published: July 2009

We present a systematic cathodoluminescence study yielding a clear correlation between the different growth conditions and the appearance and strength of the characteristic luminescence fingerprints of the individual point defects in AlN. In particular, the incorporation of oxygen and the formation of oxygen-related and probably silicon-related DX centers as well as the native Al and N vacancies are still a problem. The thermal activation of the deep defect centers is investigated by temperature dependent cathodoluminescence spectroscopy.
Systematic truncation of the virtual space in multiconfigurational perturbation theory
Authors: Aquilante Francesco , Todorova Tanya Kumanova , Gagliardi Laura , Pedersen Thomas Bondo , Roos Björn Olof
Published: July 2009

A method is suggested which allows truncation of the virtual space in Cholesky decomposition-based multiconfigurational perturbation theory (CD-CASPT2) calculations with systematic improvability of the results. The method is based on a modified version of the frozen natural orbital (FNO) approach used in coupled cluster theory. The idea is to exploit the near-linear dependence among the eigenvectors of the virtual-virtual block of the second-order Møller–Plesset density matrix. It is shown that FNO-CASPT2 recovers more than 95% of the full CD-CASPT2 correlation energy while requiring only a fraction of the total virtual space, especially when large atomic orbital basis sets are in use. Tests on various properties commonly investigated with CASPT2 demonstrate the reliability of the approach and the associated reduction in computational cost and storage demand of the calculations.
Unambiguous evidence of the existence of polarization field crossover in a semipolar InGaN/GaN single quantum well
Authors: Shen H. , Wraback M. , Zhong H. , Tyagi A. , DenBaars S. P. , Nakamura S. , Speck J. S.
Published: July 2009

We present an electroreflectance study of the piezoelectric field in a semipolar (1011¯) oriented In0.15Ga0.85N quantum well (QW). The flatband condition is precisely determined by examining the zero-crossing of the electroreflectance signal. The polarization field determined by the flatband condition is 840±150 kV/cm, in the direction opposite to the built-in field. The corresponding polarization charge at the heterointerface is 0.008±0.002 C/m2. Our experimental result indicates that in the semipolar InGaN/GaN QW there is a crossover angle between the C-axis and the growth direction where the polarization field vanishes.