bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Expressing findings from meta‐analyses of continuous outcomes in terms of risks
Authors: Anzures‐Cabrera Judith , Sarpatwari Ameet , Higgins Julian PT
Published: August 2011

Meta‐analyses of clinical trials with continuous outcome data typically report the effect of an intervention as either a mean difference or a standardized mean difference. These results can be difficult to interpret, and re‐expressing the effect size in terms of risk may facilitate understanding and applicability. We describe three methods for obtaining risks in such situations. Two of these methods involve direct transformation of a standardized mean difference to an odds ratio. The third entails estimation of risks in the two groups for a specific cut point. We extend this third approach to a completed meta‐analysis by expressing the finding in the format of a single ‘meta‐study’. We compare the methods in two examples of meta‐analyses and in a series of simulation studies that examine their properties in individual studies and in meta‐analyses. These simulations show that the methods for expressing meta‐analysis results from continuous outcomes are sensitive to underlying distributions, sample sizes and cut points but are remarkably robust to the presence of heterogeneity across studies. We offer suggestions of situations in which the various methods may safely be applied. In particular, if the underlying distribution is approximately normal, then estimation of risks for a specific cut point may be used for large sample sizes; direct transformations may be preferable otherwise. However, if the standard deviations in the two groups are notably different, then none of the methods have good properties. Furthermore, absolute risks are safely estimated after direct transformation only if they are in the region of 20% to 80%. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Interval estimation in two‐stage, drop‐the‐losers clinical trials with flexible treatment selection
Authors: Neal Dan , Casella George , Yang Mark C. K. , Wu Samuel S.
Published: August 2011

In a two‐stage, drop‐the‐losers clinical trial, researchers choose the ‘best’ among a number of treatments at an interim analysis after the first stage. The selected treatment continues to the second stage for confirmation of efficacy, and the remaining treatments (the ‘losers’) are dropped from the study. Wu et al. (Biometrika 2010; 97:405–418) showed how to construct confidence limits for the mean difference between the selected treatment and the control when the treatment is chosen after the first stage based on the highest efficacy in the primary clinical endpoint. In this article, we show how to construct a lower confidence limit for the mean difference when the treatment is chosen based on first‐stage safety data, early endpoint efficacy data, a combination of safety and efficacy data or any other prespecified selection rule. The result extends the applicability of drop‐the‐losers designs, for in practice, the ‘best’ treatment often is not chosen for efficacy alone. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Toward enhanced life‐cycle support for declarative processes
Authors: Zugal Stefan , Pinggera Jakob , Weber Barbara
Published: August 2011

The need for flexible process‐aware information systems resulted in a recent interest in declarative approaches, as they promise a high degree of flexibility. However, the potential of current declarative approaches is impeded by deficiencies in understandability and maintainability. This paper proposes an approach toward better understandability and maintainability of declarative processes by adopting well‐established techniques from the domain of software engineering. More specifically, the ideas of test‐driven development and automated acceptance testing are adopted to interweave process specification and process testing. Thereby, during modeling, testcases balance the circumstantial/sequential information mismatch as well as improve understandability by dispensing with hard mental operations and removing hidden dependencies. Because testcases are also understandable to domain experts, they foster communication between domain experts and model builders, providing a common basis for communication. During process execution, testcases, in turn, help to document the reasons for process deviations and ensure that respective deviations can be easily considered during schema evolution. Furthermore, testcases ensure that no undesired behavior is introduced through process adaptations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Steel research after EC 3 and EC 4
Authors: Nethercot David A
Published: August 2011

Rather than treating final publication of EC3 and EC4 as signalling that research into the behaviour and design of structural steelwork should now reduce because justification is less, the argument is made that there may well be an increasing need as the discovery of shortcomings, limitations and omissions in those Codes provides another, potentially very fertile, source of new challenges. Several illustrations of different types of “opportunities for improvement” are provided in support of this contention.
Robustness of building structures – recent developments and adopted strategy
Authors: Demonceau Jean‐François , Comeliau Ludivine , Jaspart Jean‐Pierre
Published: August 2011

Recent events such as natural catastrophes or terrorism attacks have highlighted the necessity to ensure the structural integrity of buildings under an exceptional event. According to the Eurocodes and some different other national design codes, the structural integrity of civil engineering structures should be ensured through appropriate measures but, in most cases, no precise practical guidelines on how to achieve this goal are provided.

At the University of Liège, the robustness of building frames is investigated following the so‐called “alternative load path method”, with the final objective to propose design requirements to mitigate the risk of progressive collapse considering the conventional scenario “loss of a column” further to an unspecified event. In particular, a complete analytical procedure has been developed for the verification of the robustness of steel or composite plane frames. For sake of simplicity, these first works have been based on the assumption that the dynamic effects linked to the column loss were limited and could therefore be neglected. More recently, complementary works have been carried out with the objective to address the dynamic effects. Besides, the extension of the static procedure to actual 3D frames is under investigation in Liège. The present paper gives a global overview of the ongoing researches in the field of robustness at the University of Liège and, in particular, the global strategy aiming at deriving design requirements is detailed.
Earthquake resilient steel braced frames with controlled rocking and energy dissipating fuses
Authors: Deierlein Gregory , Krawinkler Helmut , Ma Xiang , Eatherton Matthew , Hajjar Jerome , Takeuchi Toru , Kasai Kazuhiko , Midorikawa Mitsumasa
Published: August 2011

A new type of seismic resistant structural steel braced‐frame system is introduced that employs controlled rocking, elastic post tensioning, and replaceable fuses to resist earthquake shaking with limited structural damage. Through the use of capacity design principles, inelastic energy dissipation is confined to replaceable fuses while the controlled rocking and elastic post tensioning provide self‐centering action to eliminate residual drift. Quasi‐static cyclic tests and dynamic shake table tests of large‐scale specimens confirm that the system can sustain extreme earthquake ground shaking with story drift ratios up to 3 % without structural damage. Owing to the well‐defined rocking mechanism, analysis and design of the system is straightforward. Work is ongoing to develop design criteria and guidelines to facilitate practical implementation of these system in building design and construction.
The influence of rivet corrosion on the durability of riveted connections
Authors: Heinemeyer Christoph , Feldmann Markus
Published: August 2011

From the beginning of structural steel construction until the 1950s, steel bridges were riveted structures. Rivets have not only been used for joining members as bolts are today used for but also for forming cross sections by joining the section elements e.g. web and flanges.

From this kind of bridges thousands – among many famous bridges – still fulfil the function that they have been erected for.

Rivets are often particular locations of accelerated corrosion in riveted bridges. In particular the heads of the rivets are subject of rust and corrosion. Therefore the question is whether and how much the pre‐stressing effect of the rivet will be affected by the material degradation of the rivet’s head, such that the load deformation and the fatigue behaviour will be reduced. The pre‐stress of a rivet reduces the stress‐peak that is caused by the hole in the connection and is thus of big importance for the fatigue resistance.

The following paper presents latest investigations on the effect of rivet head corrosion on the pre‐stressing of the rivet by means of milling the rivet’s head and numerical simulations. Fatigue tests are presented that give first results for the assessment of the residual lifetime of riveted connection with reduced rivet stress.

The paper also shows how the results of the investigations have been considered in an existing riveted bridge from 1920 of 2,3 km length.
“Mayfly” footbridge, Szolnok – design, construction and dynamic behaviour of the longest footbridge in Hungary
Authors: Pálossy Miklós , Szabó Gergely , Szecsányi László
Published: August 2011

Following a period in which the governing factor was mainly functionality, bridges now seem to be returning to their role of shaping the urban landscape. In line with the change in traffic requirements and possibilities, we are experiencing a revival of the human‐scale pedestrian/cyclist bridge as well. In a project supported by the European Union, the longest footbridge in Hungary – in Szolnok – was opened to traffic in January 2011. The total length of the crossing is 450 m, including a 120 m span steel arch over the River Tisza. Besides the description of the structure and its erection, this paper deals in detail with the examination of the pedestrian‐ and wind‐induced excitations – the key issue in the design of lightweight, slender bridge structures.
Prediction models for wind speed at turbine locations in a wind farm
Authors: Knudsen Torben , Bak Thomas , Soltani Mohsen
Published: August 2011

In wind farms, individual turbines disturb the wind field by generating wakes that influence other turbines in the farm. From a control point of view, there is an interest in dynamic optimization of the balance between fatigue and production, and an understanding of the relationship between turbines manifested through the wind field is hence required. This paper develops models for this relationship. The result is based on two new contributions: the first is related to the estimation of effective wind speeds, which serves as a basis for the second contribution to wind speed prediction models.

Based on standard turbine measurements such as rotor speed and power produced, an effective wind speed, which represents the wind field averaged over the rotor disc, is derived. The effective wind speed estimator is based on a continuous–discrete extended Kalman filter that takes advantage of nonlinear time varying turbulence models. The estimator includes a nonlinear time varying wind speed model, which compared with literature results in an adaptive filter. Given the estimated effective wind speed, it is possible to establish wind speed prediction models by system identification. As the prediction models are based on the result related to effective wind speed, it is possible to predict wind speeds at neighboring turbines, with a separation of over 700 m, up to 1 min ahead reducing the error by 30% compared with a persistence method. The methodological results are demonstrated on data from an off‐shore wind farm. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A systems biology approach to synovial joint lubrication in health, injury, and disease
Authors: Hui Alexander Y. , McCarty William J. , Masuda Koichi , Firestein Gary S. , Sah Robert L.
Published: August 2011

The synovial joint contains synovial fluid (SF) within a cavity bounded by articular cartilage and synovium. SF is a viscous fluid that has lubrication, metabolic, and regulatory functions within synovial joints. SF contains lubricant molecules, including proteoglycan‐4 and hyaluronan. SF is an ultrafiltrate of plasma with secreted contributions from cell populations lining and within the synovial joint space, including chondrocytes and synoviocytes. Maintenance of normal SF lubricant composition and function are important for joint homeostasis. In osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and joint injury, changes in lubricant composition and function accompany alterations in the cytokine and growth factor environment and increased fluid and molecular transport through joint tissues. Thus, understanding the synovial joint lubrication system requires a multifaceted study of the various parts of the synovial joint and their interactions. Systems biology approaches at multiple scales are being used to describe the molecular, cellular, and tissue components and their interactions that comprise the functioning synovial joint. Analyses of the transcriptome and proteome of SF, cartilage, and synovium suggest that particular molecules and pathways play important roles in joint homeostasis and disease. Such information may be integrated with physicochemical tissue descriptions to construct integrative models of the synovial joint that ultimately may explain maintenance of health, recovery from injury, or development and progression of arthritis. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2012, 4:15–37. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.157

This article is categorized under:

Physiology > Mammalian Physiology in Health and Disease

Translational, Genomic, and Systems Medicine > Translational Medicine
At‐Risk Marriages after Compulsory Premarital Testing and Counseling for β‐Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Disease in Saudi Arabia, 2005–2006
Authors: Alswaidi Fahad M. , Memish Ziad A. , O'Brien Sarah J. , Al‐Hamdan Nasser A. , Al‐Enzy Faisal M. , Alhayani Osamah A. , Al‐Wadey Ali M.
Published: August 2011

Results from a screening program for sickle cell disease and β‐thalassemia suggest about 90% of couples in Saudi Arabia at risk of having affected children still decide to marry. This study determined the rate of at‐risk marriages and identified several factors that may prevent at risk couples from marrying. The marriage status of 934 at‐risk couples was determined from original screening program records in the Ministry of Health. Of 934 couples, 824 married (88.2%) and 110 (11.8%) did not. A case–controlled study was conducted on 104 couples who did not marry (cases) and 478 couples who did marry (controls) in order to assess relationships between various cultural and social factors and marriage decisions. In the case‐controled study, 28.8% of couples (30/104) who did not marry (cases) knew their disease or carrier status before screening compared to 18% (86/478) of those who married (controls). Reasons couples gave for proceeding with marriage included: wedding plans could not be canceled, and fear of social stigma. Couples who did not marry reported being influenced by prior knowledge of their disease or carrier status and whether they or family members were affected. Approximately half of the cases and controls (n = 270, 46.4%) thought it best to undergo screening before proceeding with the engagement and wedding plans. Most couples received no advice to participate in genetic counseling services. Marriage decisions for the small number who received genetic counseling (n = 168, 27.6%) did not differ significantly from those that received no counseling. Recommendations are made for improving the effectiveness of this screening program.
NGOs Address Structural Racism: After the Storm in New Orleans
Authors: Green Rodney D. , Hamelin Tiffany , Zitelman Kiera
Published: August 2011

The long history of institutional and historical racism found an explosive expression in the events around Katrina in New Orleans. Racial inequalities were evident in the actual destruction caused by the hurricane and even more significantly in the government response to the disaster. The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) sector provided alternative approaches to recovery and reconstruction, but such alternatives were inadequate to counter the formidable forces of capitalism arrayed against them. NGOs provided substantial direct service to the most distressed residents of the city and, in some cases, provided important advocacy roles in addressing the inequities caused by government action and/or inaction. The specific initiatives of six NGOs are reviewed here, including the work of the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity, the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Common Ground Collective, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversight Coalition, and the People's Organizing Committee. NGO initiatives were not structurally capable of generating a broad militant anti-racist mass movement of New Orleans’ working class for social change. Five years after the storm the working class of New Orleans faces deepened racial and economic distress. A return to the strategy of bold anti-racist mass movements confronting capital and the state would seem to be in order for the coming period of time.
Purchasing Piety? Coresidence of Married Children With Their Older Parents in Japan
Authors: Takagi Emiko , Silverstein Merril
Published: August 2011

We investigated the conditions under which married children live with their older parents in Japan. We focused on how needs and resources in each generation are associated with whether married couples live with their parents in parent-headed and child-headed households, and we also investigated difference in power relations between older and younger generations and between children and their spouses. We analyzed a nationally representative sample of older parents (n  =  3,853) and their married children (n  =  8,601) from the 1999 Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging (NUJLSOA). Mutinomial regression revealed that married children with relatively affluent parents tended to live with them in parent-headed households and that married children with parents who are in relatively poor health or who are widowed tended to live with them in child-headed households. We also found that less-educated married children tended to live in the households of their higher-income parents, suggesting that parents may be “purchasing” traditional arrangements with less-affluent children. In addition, children with an educational advantage over their spouses were more likely to have parents living with them in child-headed coresident households. We conclude that traditional multigenerational coresidence has become a commodity negotiated within families based on relative resources and needs within and across generations.
Glacial advances constrained by 10Be exposure dating of bedrock landslides, Kyrgyz Tien Shan
Authors: Sanhueza-Pino Katia , Korup Oliver , Hetzel Ralf , Munack Henry , Weidinger Johannes T. , Dunning Stuart , Ormukov Cholponbek , Kubik Peter W.
Published: August 2011

Numerous large landslide deposits occur in the Tien Shan, a tectonically active intraplate orogen in Central Asia. Yet their significance in Quaternary landscape evolution and natural hazard assessment remains unresolved due to the lack of "absolute" age constraints. Here we present the first 10Be exposure ages for three prominent (> 107 m3) bedrock landslides that blocked major rivers and formed lakes, two of which subsequently breached, in the northern Kyrgyz Tien Shan. Three 10Be ages reveal that one landslide in the Alamyedin River occurred at 11–15 ka, which is consistent with two 14C ages of gastropod shells from reworked loess capping the landslide. One large landslide in Aksu River is among the oldest documented in semi-arid continental interiors, with a 10Be age of 63–67 ka. The Ukok River landslide deposit(s) yielded variable 10Be ages, which may result from multiple landslides, and inheritance of 10Be. Two 10Be ages of 8.2 and 5.9 ka suggest that one major landslide occurred in the early to mid-Holocene, followed by at least one other event between 1.5 and 0.4 ka. Judging from the regional glacial chronology, all three landslides have occurred between major regional glacial advances. Whereas Alamyedin and Ukok can be considered as postglacial in this context, Aksu is of interglacial age. None of the landslide deposits show traces of glacial erosion, hence their locations and 10Be ages mark maximum extents and minimum ages of glacial advances, respectively. Using toe-to-headwall altitude ratios of 0.4–0.5, we reconstruct minimum equilibrium-line altitudes that exceed previous estimates by as much as 400 m along the moister northern fringe of the Tien Shan. Our data show that deposits from large landslides can provide valuable spatio-temporal constraints for glacial advances in landscapes where moraines and glacial deposits have low preservation potential.
Anaemia in Ugandan preschool-aged children: the relative contribution of intestinal parasites and malaria
Authors: GREEN HELEN K. , SOUSA-FIGUEIREDO JOSE C. , BASÁÑEZ MARIA-GLORIA , BETSON MARTHA , KABATEREINE NARCIS B. , FENWICK ALAN , STOTHARD J. RUSSELL
Published: August 2011

Anaemia is a severe public health issue among African preschool-aged children, yet little effective progress has been made towards its amelioration, in part due to difficulties in unravelling its complex, multifactorial aetiology. To determine the current anaemia situation and assess the relative contribution of malaria, intestinal schistosomiasis and infection with soil-transmitted helminths, two separate cross-sectional epidemiological surveys were carried out in Uganda including 573 and 455 preschool-aged children (⩽6 years) living along the shores of Lake Albert and on the islands in Lake Victoria, respectively. Anaemia was found to be a severe public health problem in Lake Albert, affecting 68·9% of children (ninety-five percent confidence intervals (95% CI) 64·9–72·7%), a statistically significant higher prevalence relative to the 27·3% detected in Lake Victoria (95% CI: 23·3–31·7%). After multivariate analysis (controlling for sex and age of the child), the only factor found to be significantly associated with increased odds of anaemia in both lake systems was malaria (Lake Albert, odds ratio (OR)=2·1, 95% CI: 1·4–3·2; Lake Victoria, OR=1·9, 95% CI: 1·2–2·9). Thus intervention strategies primarily focusing on very young children and combating malaria appear to represent the most appropriate use of human and financial resources for the prevention of anaemia in this age group and area. Looking to the future, these activities could be further emphasised within the National Child Health DaysPLUSagenda.
Rates and intensity of re-infection with human helminths after treatment and the influence of individual, household, and environmental factors in a Brazilian community
Authors: CUNDILL BONNIE , ALEXANDER NEAL , BETHONY JEFF M. , DIEMERT DAVID , PULLAN RACHEL L. , BROOKER SIMON
Published: August 2011

This study quantifies the rate and intensity of re-infection with human hookworm and Schistosoma mansoni infection 12 months following successful treatment, and investigates the influence of socio-economic, geographical and environmental factors. A longitudinal study of 642 individuals aged over 5 years was conducted in Minas Gerais State, Brazil from June 2004 to March 2006. Risk factors were assessed using interval censored regression for the rate and negative binomial regression for intensity. The crude rate and intensity of hookworm re-infection was 0·21 per year (95% confidence interval (CI) 0·15–0·29) and 70·9 epg (95% CI 47·2–106·6). For S. mansoni the rate was 0·06 per year (95% CI 0·03–0·10) and intensity 6·51 epg (95% CI 3·82–11·11). Rate and intensity of re-infection with hookworm were highest among males and positively associated with previous infection status, absence of a toilet and house structure. Rate and intensity of S. mansoni re-infection were associated with previous infection status as well as geographical, environmental and socio-economic factors. The implications of findings for the design of anti-helminth vaccine trials are discussed.
Thermodynamics of cercarial survival and metabolism in a changing climate
Authors: MORLEY N. J.
Published: August 2011

Cercariae are non-feeding free-living stages in the life cycles of trematodes, highly influenced by temperature. Their life span is brief, limited by the depletion of a non-renewable glycogen store. Warmer temperatures under the influence of climate change may promote the transmission of parasites and therefore understanding their thermobiology forms an important step in discerning the future dynamics of parasite populations. An empirical relationship exists between cercarial mean expected life span and the half-life of the population (t0·5) and therefore t0·5 is a good indicator of glycogen utilization. In this study experimental data on the effects of temperature on cercarial survival is compiled from the scientific literature and evaluated in terms of metabolism using Q10 and Arrhenius activation energy (E* or μ), common measures of temperature-mediated reaction rates. Cercariae have a variable response to temperature, which does not appear to be influenced by their life-history attributes or size. There were little differences in Q10 and E* values between most temperature ranges. In almost half the studies examined (7 of 16) cercariae demonstrated a discrete zone of thermostability over a range equivalent to typical individual mean summer temperatures. Distinct intraspecific differences in temperature responses between 3 laboratory strains of Schistosoma mansoni and 2 natural strains of Echinoparyphium recurvatumsensu stricto were apparent. The importance of these results for cercarial biology under global climate change is discussed.
Samian Ware and Society in Roman Britain and Beyond
Authors: Willis Steven
Published: August 2011

Samian ware being widely present, of striking quality, and highly useful to the archaeologist has a special position within Roman studies. This article brings a large body of samian ware data together to explore the nature of its incidence at settlements and in graves. The examination shows how the nature of samian ware distribution is highly structured between different types of site and between different consumers. This is shown to be so in the case of both Britain and the other Western provinces. The findings raise issues around the use of samian ware in society and point the way to harnessing the rich potential of samian as a source of information as understanding of its utility for the archaeologist expands.
Feature types and object categories: Is sensorimotoric knowledge different for living and nonliving things?
Authors: ANKERSTEIN CARRIE A. , VARLEY ROSEMARY A. , COWELL PATRICIA E.
Published: August 2011

Some models of semantic memory claim that items from living and nonliving domains have different feature-type profiles. Data from feature generation and perceptual modality rating tasks were compared to evaluate this claim. Results from two living (animals, fruits/vegetables) and two nonliving (tools, vehicles) categories showed that sensorimotoric features were important in object knowledge across both domains. In addition, significant cross-domain similarities and within-domain differences indicated that feature profiles were not determined simply as a function of the living and nonliving domain distinction. The current data support a model of semantic memory rooted in perceptual and motor processes with reduced salience for the “living/nonliving” construct.
Processing reflexives in a second language: The timing of structural and discourse-level constraints
Authors: FELSER CLAUDIA , CUNNINGS IAN
Published: August 2011

We report the results from two eye-movement monitoring experiments examining the processing of reflexive pronouns by proficient German-speaking learners of second language (L2) English. Our results show that the nonnative speakers initially tried to link English argument reflexives to a discourse-prominent but structurally inaccessible antecedent, thereby violating binding condition A. Our native speaker controls, in contrast, showed evidence of applying condition A immediately during processing. Together, our findings show that L2 learners’ initial focusing on a structurally inaccessible antecedent cannot be due to first language influence and is also independent of whether the inaccessible antecedent c-commands the reflexive. This suggests that unlike native speakers, nonnative speakers of English initially attempt to interpret reflexives through discourse-based coreference assignment rather than syntactic binding.
Second language learners' vocabulary expansion is associated with improved second language vowel intelligibility
Authors: BUNDGAARD-NIELSEN RIKKE L. , BEST CATHERINE T. , KROOS CHRISTIAN , TYLER MICHAEL D.
Published: August 2011

This paper tests the predictions of the vocabulary-tuning model of second language (L2) rephonologization in the domain of L2 segmental production. This model proposes a facilitating effect of adults’ L2 vocabulary expansion on L2 perception and production and suggests that early improvements in L2 segmental production may be positively associated with an expanding L2 vocabulary. The model was tested in a study of the L2 vowel intelligibility of adult Japanese learners of Australian English, who differed only in the size of their L2 vocabularies. The results support the predicted association between L2 vocabulary size and L2 vowel intelligibility and the prediction that early-phase L2 vocabulary expansion leads to improved L2 production.
“The spotty cow tickled the pig with a curly tail”: How do sentence position, preferred argument structure, and referential complexity affect children's and adults’ choice of referring expression?
Authors: THEAKSTON ANNA L.
Published: August 2011

In this study, 5-year-olds and adults described scenes that differed according to whether (a) the subject or object of a transitive verb represented an accessible or inaccessible referent, consistent or inconsistent with patterns of preferred argument structure, and (b) a simple noun was sufficient to uniquely identify an inaccessible referent. Results showed that although adults did not differ in their choice of referring expression based on sentence position, 5-year-olds were less likely to provide informative referring expressions for subjects than for objects when the referent was inaccessible. In addition, under complex discourse conditions, although adults used complex noun phrases to identify inaccessible referents, 5-year-olds increased their use of pronominal/null reference for both accessible and inaccessible referents, thus reducing their levels of informativeness. The data suggest that 5-year-olds are still learning to integrate their knowledge of discourse features with preferred argument structure patterns, that this is particularly difficult in complex discourse contexts, and that in these contexts children rely on well-rehearsed patterns of argument realization.
Self-deployment of mobile robotic sensor networks for multilevel barrier coverage
Authors: Cheng Teddy M. , Savkin Andrey V.
Published: August 2011

We study a problem of K-barrier coverage by employing a network of self-deployed, autonomous mobile robotic sensors. A decentralized coordination algorithm is proposed for the robotic sensors to address the coverage problem. The algorithm is developed based on some simple rules that only rely on local information. By applying the algorithm to the robotic sensors, K layers of sensor barriers are formed to cover the region between two given points. To illustrate the proposed algorithm, numerical simulations are carried out for a number of scenarios.
A dynamic localization algorithm for a high-speed mobile robot using indoor GPS
Authors: Cho Seungkeun , Park Jaehyun , Lee Jangmyung
Published: August 2011

This paper proposes a dynamic localization algorithm for a variable speed mobile robot. In order to localize a mobile robot with active beacon sensors, a relatively long time is needed, since the distance to the beacon is measured using the time-of-flight of the ultrasonic signal. The measurement time does not cause a high error rate when the mobile robot moves slowly. However, with an increase of the mobile robot's speed, the localization error becomes too high to use for accurate mobile robot navigation. Therefore, in this research into high-speed mobile robot operations, instead of using two active beacons for localization, an active beacon and the predicted path are utilized to localize the mobile robot. This new approach resolves the high-localization error caused by the speed of mobile robot. The performance of this method was verified by comparing it to the conventional method through real-world experiments.
Questions of authenticity: brickwork and ‘found space’
Authors: McCormack Simon , Peckham Andrew
Published: August 2011

Our paper examines the Brick House, completed by Caruso St John Architects in 2005. Nearly invisible from the street with its unusual form and ‘brick’ nomenclature, this clearly is no ordinary house. Despite or perhaps because of its elusive character, which confounds expectations, the house has won universal praise from commentators but has prompted little deeper analysis. The architects set out their agenda for the project in an allusive text that, despite intriguing contradictions, has remained largely unquestioned.
Downward trajectory: towards a theory of failure
Authors: Brittain-Catlin Timothy
Published: August 2011

When I first started researching the work of the Edwardian architect Horace Field
(1861–1948), I soon realised that this was a man whose achievements
could best be measured in terms quite antithetical to those conventionally used
by architectural historians. Nearly all buildings are judged on the basis of
their originality; and, if they are old, on the basis of their influence or
their relationship to what subsequently became a significant direction in the
arts or culture of their time. Even in a field such as the history of Victorian
and Edwardian architecture, transformed by Mark Girouard and Alistair Service
forty or more years ago, a story has only been worth telling when it is a story.
If a collection of buildings adds up to very little, what then?
Field's buildings are mostly incidental to other more interesting,
more imaginative stories. Was he a failure, then, in designing buildings which
fail to appear in their own right as part of a critical canon? Was he a failure
too, in that his career started so promisingly and tailed away to nothing; that
he was tucked away in rural Sussex, in Rye, fiddling about with old buildings
and designing garages and cheap villas, while other architects of his generation
spent their final years on some of the most enthralling projects of their lives?
Or does the story of Field's career suggest that there are other ways
to evaluate an architectural career than to tell the story of its
conventionally-defined successes?
Mind the evaluation gap: reviewing the assessment of architectural research in the Netherlands
Authors: van der Hoeven Frank
Published: August 2011

The definition of research quality is directly linked to public funding access in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands. Architecture, as a design discipline, faces the problem that it has limited access to these resources. It experiences a so-called evaluation gap. Its research performance does not easily fit the conventional moulds commonly used to assess quality. Assessments are increasingly based on the analysis of indexed journals, while indexes (such as the ISI) have, so far, mostly neglected the arts and humanities to which architecture may be assumed to belong. Schools of architecture have to face this matter head-on if they want to survive in times of austerity, and they need to do so sooner rather than later. They have to decide whether they want to continue to push for the acceptance of discipline-specific performance indicators or whether they would rather adapt to the standards and dissemination practices that characterise more established fields of scientific research. The direction they choose will inevitably shape future research in architecture.
Breaking up is hard to do: the economic impact of provisional funding contingent upon evidence development
Authors: Mortimer Duncan , Li Jing Jing , Watts Jennifer , Harris Anthony
Published: August 2011

Funding contingent upon evidence development (FED) has recently been the subject of some considerable debate in the literature but relatively little has been made of its economic impact. We argue that FED has the potential to shorten the lag between innovation and access but may also (i) crowd-out more valuable interventions in situations in which there is a fixed dedicated budget; or (ii) lead to a de facto increase in the funding threshold and increased expenditure growth in situations in which the programme budget is open-ended. Although FED would typically entail periodic review of provisional or interim listings, it may prove difficult to withdraw funding even at cost/QALY ratios well in excess of current listing thresholds. Further consideration of the design and implementation of FED processes is therefore required to ensure that its introduction yields net benefits over existing processes.
Pharmaceutical lobbying under postcommunism: universal or country-specific methods of securing state drug reimbursement in Poland?
Authors: Ozierański Piotr , McKee Martin , King Lawrence
Published: August 2011

This paper aims to fill in the gap in research on the effect of pharmaceutical lobbying on drug reimbursement policy, particularly in Poland, a post-communist country. To this end, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured, anonymous, elite interviews in Poland, supplemented by a review of legislation, policy documents, official reports and press articles, as well as observations. Overall, 109 representatives of stakeholders involved in reimbursement policy were interviewed. We identified two key lobbying methods: informal persuasion and third-party endorsements. These methods are coupled with two supplementary ones: lobbying through parliament and ministries, as well as diplomatic pressure. Pharmaceutical lobbying methods in Poland clearly resemble those used in other European countries. What is notable about the Polish case is extensive reliance on informal lobbying and diplomatic pressure.
Social preferences for the inclusion of indirect benefits in the evaluation of publicly funded health services: results from an Australian survey
Authors: McKie John , Richardson Jeff
Published: August 2011

The inclusion of both monetary and non-monetary indirect benefits in economic evaluations of public health programmes and services can have significant distributive effects between patient groups. As a result, some patients may be advantaged and others disadvantaged for reasons not directly related to health outcomes or (direct) treatment costs. In pluralistic democracies, there is a case for consulting the community on the fairness of policies that have such distributive implications. This paper reports the results of two pilot studies aimed at uncovering the preferences of the Australian public for the inclusion of indirect benefits in the evaluation of services for its national health scheme, Medicare. The initial survey found some support for taking account of non-monetary indirect benefits – for example, the social contribution made by parents of young children and carers of elderly relatives. By contrast, there was little support for giving high taxpayers priority access to general Medicare services, to life-saving organ transplants, or to very costly drugs, despite the indirect social benefits of doing so. However, such support increased significantly in the follow-up study when the outcomes were characterised as certain, identifiable and health related, and the opportunity costs of failing to take account of indirect benefits were made very clear. The follow-up survey provided evidence of public scepticism about the willingness or ability of government to use additional tax receipts for socially beneficial purposes, and/or a preference for programmes and services that focus on health rather than welfare more generally.
The timing of deglacial circulation changes in the Atlantic
Authors: Waelbroeck C. , Skinner L. C. , Labeyrie L. , Duplessy J.‐C. , Michel E. , Vazquez Riveiros N. , Gherardi J.‐M. , Dewilde F.
Published: August 2011

Well‐dated benthic foraminifer oxygen isotopic records (δ18O) from different water depths and locations within the Atlantic Ocean exhibit distinct patterns and significant differences in timing over the last deglaciation. This has two implications: on the one hand, it confirms that benthic δ18O cannot be used as a global correlation tool with millennial‐scale precision, but on the other hand, the combination of benthic isotopic records with independent dating provides a wealth of information on past circulation changes. Comparing new South Atlantic benthic isotopic data with published benthic isotopic records, we show that (1) circulation changes first affected benthic δ18O in the 1000–2200 m range, with marked decreases in benthic δ18O taking place at ∼17.5 cal. kyr B.P. (ka) due to the southward propagation of brine waters generated in the Nordic Seas during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) cold period; (2) the arrival of δ18O‐depleted deglacial meltwater took place later at deeper North Atlantic sites; (3) hydrographic changes recorded in North Atlantic cores below 3000 m during HS1 do not correspond to simple alternations between northern‐ and southern‐sourced water but likely reflect instead the incursion of brine‐generated deep water of northern as well as southern origin; and (4) South Atlantic waters at ∼44°S and ∼3800 m depth remained isolated from better‐ventilated northern‐sourced water masses until after the resumption of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation at the onset of the Bølling‐Allerod, which led to the propagation of NADW into the South Atlantic.
Linking Taiwan's subcritical Hsuehshan Range topography and foreland basin architecture
Authors: Wilcox T. , Mueller K. , Upton P. , Chen Y. G. , Huang S. T. , Yanites B. J. , Tucker G.
Published: August 2011

The contemporary presence of the Puli Topographic Embayment within the Taiwanese thrust belt provides insight into processes that initiate and maintain a subcritical state in a thin‐skinned compressive wedge. Orogen‐scale analyses of Taiwan have succeeded in describing the processes and interactions that affect overall development of the thrust belt; however, relatively little is known about which processes or boundary conditions control first‐order organization of strain at intermediate scales within the orogenic wedge. We investigate spatial and temporal scales of variation in the overall topographic and structural architecture of a critical wedge and explore the boundary conditions that affect very rapid shortening and erosion at intermediate scales on the order of 101 kilometers and 104–105 years. Causal links between the structural and synorogenic stratigraphic architecture of the foreland basin and coincidence of the Puli Topographic Embayment provide a valuable case study of the effects of changing boundary conditions (e.g., variable erodibility or strength of rocks along strike) controlling the evolution of critically tapered thin‐skinned orogens. Deeper incision of river networks into a thicker sequence of unconsolidated synorogenic sediments in the central western foreland may affect the onset of a topographically subcritical state.
Persistence in intra‐annual snow depth distribution: 2. Fractal analysis of snow depth development
Authors: Schirmer M. , Lehning M.
Published: August 2011

We present an analysis of high resolution laser scanning data of snow depths of three different slopes in the Wannengrat catchment (introduced in part 1) using omnidirectional and directional variograms for three specific terrain features; cross‐loaded slopes, lee slopes, and windward slopes. A break in scaling behavior was observed in all subareas, which can be seen as the roughness scale of bare earth terrain which is modified by the snow cover. In the wind‐protected lee slope a different scaling behavior was observed, compared to the two wind‐exposed areas. The wind‐exposed areas have a smaller ordinal intercept , a smaller short range fractal dimension D, and a larger scale break distance L than the wind‐protected lee slope. Snow depth structure inherits characteristics of dominant NW storms, which results, e.g., in a trend toward larger break distances in the course of the accumulation season. This can be interpreted as a result of surface smoothing at increasing scales. Similar scaling characteristics were obtained for two different years at the end of the accumulation season. Since snow depth structure is altered strongly by NW storms, this inter‐annual consistency may strongly depend on their frequency in an accumulation period. With the analysis of directional variograms anisotropies of fractal parameters were detected, which were related to dominant wind directions.
Geologic heterogeneity representation using high‐order spatial cumulants for subsurface flow and transport simulations
Authors: Mustapha Hussein , Dimitrakopoulos Roussos , Chatterjee Snehamoy
Published: August 2011

The effects of geological heterogeneity representation on the hydraulic properties of two‐dimensional flow and transport simulations are studied using various stochastic simulation algorithms. An alternative multiple‐point method (HOSIM) on the basis of high‐order spatial cumulants and Legendre polynomials is used and compared to the multiple‐point FilterSIM method, and the sequential Gaussian simulation (SGS) method. Conditional realizations of a fluvial reservoir system are generated by HOSIM, FilterSIM, and SGS methods. Then, the simulated hydraulic permeability fields (K) are used in a numerical groundwater flow and solute transport models. Numerical results showed that the HOSIM method created greater connectivity in the reservoir/aquifer (channel) network than FilterSIM and SGS realizations. The numerical simulations show that in a reservoir/aquifer system with a strongly connected network of high‐K materials, the Gaussian and FilterSIM approaches are not as effective as HOSIM in reproducing this behavior. The simulations showed a good agreement between HOSIM realizations and the exhaustive reference image.