bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Short‐ and long‐term outcome after perineal urethrostomy in 86 cats with feline lower urinary tract disease
Authors: Ruda L. , Heiene R.
Published: November 2012

BACKGROUND

Perineal urethrostomy is a surgical method for alleviating urethral obstruction in cats with complicated or recurrent obstructive feline lower urinary tract disease. However, long‐term outcome of perineal urethrostomy in cats with feline lower urinary tract disease has only been described in studies with relatively few cats.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the long‐term prognosis, recurrent episodes, quality of life and survival times in cats with feline lower urinary tract disease who underwent perineal urethrostomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data was collected from 86 cats from medical records, including 75 cats with at least 6 months survival, whose owners responded by questionnaire‐based telephone interviews.

RESULTS

Long‐term follow‐up ranged from 1·0 to 10·4 years. The median survival time for all cats was 3·5 years after surgery. Forty‐seven cats were still alive at the time of the study. Five cats (5·8%) did not survive the first 14 days after perineal urethrostomy surgery; another six cats (7·0%) did not survive 6 months. Seventy‐five cats (87%) lived longer than 6 months; 45 (60%) of these were asymptomatic after surgery; 8 of 75 cats (10·7%) experienced severe signs of recurrent feline lower urinary tract disease. For 19 cats, data were available for more than 6 years. Among these, 13 cats were still alive at the time of this study. The six non‐surviving cats had all been euthanased for diseases unrelated to the urinary tract. Eighty‐eight percent of the owners categorised their cat's long‐term quality of life as good.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

This study shows that long‐term quality of life after perineal urethrostomy in cats with obstructive feline lower urinary tract disease is good (as assessed by owners) and the recurrence rate is low.
Rapid endodontic management of type II dens invaginatus using an MTA plug: a case report
Authors: Fayazi Sara , Bayat‐Movahed Saeed , White Shane N.
Published: November 2012

Dens invaginatus is an anomaly characterized by an infolding of enamel and dentin that can lead to caries and pulpal death while the tooth is still immature, and present difficulties with diagnosis and treatment. Generally such open apices are managed by long term apexifaction procedures. This article demonstrated rapid management of a maxillary lateral incisor having a type 2 dens invaginatus, necrotic pulp, open apex and very large periradicular lesion using calcium hydroxide for one week prior to placement of a mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) plug. After setting of the MTA, the remaining canal space was obturated using a warm vertical gutta percha technique. At 6 months follow‐up the patient was asymptomatic, the lesion had almost entirely resolved, and, the root was already completely surrounded by bone.
Capacity for care: meta‐ethnography of acute care nurses' experiences of the nurse‐patient relationship
Authors: Bridges Jackie , Nicholson Caroline , Maben Jill , Pope Catherine , Flatley Mary , Wilkinson Charlotte , Meyer Julienne , Tziggili Maria
Published: November 2012

Aims

To synthesize evidence and knowledge from published research about nurses' experiences of nurse‐patient relationships with adult patients in general, acute inpatient hospital settings.

Background

While primary research on nurses' experiences has been reported, it has not been previously synthesized.

Design

Meta‐ethnography.

Data sources

Published literature from Australia, Europe, and North America, written in English between January 1999–October 2009 was identified from databases: CINAHL, Medline, British Nursing Index and PsycINFO.

Review methods

Qualitative studies describing nurses' experiences of the nurse‐patient relationship in acute hospital settings were reviewed and synthesized using the meta‐ethnographic method.

Results

Sixteen primary studies (18 papers) were appraised as high quality and met the inclusion criteria. The findings show that while nurses aspire to develop therapeutic relationships with patients, the organizational setting at a unit level is strongly associated with nurses' capacity to build and sustain these relationships. The organizational conditions of critical care settings appear best suited to forming therapeutic relationships, while nurses working on general wards are more likely to report moral distress resulting from delivering unsatisfactory care. General ward nurses can then withdraw from attempting to emotionally engage with patients.

Conclusion

The findings of this meta‐ethnography draw together the evidence from several qualitative studies and articulate how the organizational setting at a unit level can strongly influence nurses' capacity to build and sustain therapeutic relationships with patients. Service improvements need to focus on how to optimize the organizational conditions that support nurses in their relational work with patients.
Cellular and humoral immune responses of Senegalese sole, Solea senegalensis (Kaup), following challenge with two Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida strains from different geographical origins
Authors: Costas B , Rêgo P C N P , Simões I , Marques J F , Castro‐Cunha M , Afonso A
Published: November 2012

The present study aimed to investigate leucocyte responses to inflammation as well as some innate immune parameters of Senegalese sole, Solea senegalensis, following challenge with two strains of Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida belonging to the European and Japanese clones described for this bacterium. Pathogenicity assays were performed to assess the virulence of each Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida strain for sole. Subsequently, fish were intraperitoneally injected with phosphate‐buffered saline (control) or two concentrations (2 × 102 and 2 × 106 CFU mL−1) of each bacterial strain and sampled after 6 and 24 h. Results showed that the European isolate induces a higher degree of response than the Japanese strain. While blood neutrophilia and monocytosis correlated well with the increase in neutrophil and macrophage numbers in the peritoneal cavity, fish infected with the European isolate presented higher peritoneal cell numbers than fish challenged with the Japanese strain. In addition, alternative complement pathway activity and respiratory burst of head kidney leucocytes increased significantly in fish infected with the European isolate. The enhanced innate immune response displayed by Senegalese sole challenged with the European isolate is probably due to the higher degree of virulence presented by this Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida strain.
The development of aFamilyInterventionCompetencyAssessment andReflectionScale (FICARS) for psychosis
Authors: Gamble C. , Sin J. , Kelly M. , O'Loughlin D. , Moone N.
Published: November 2012

Accessible summary

Family intervention (FI) has a robust evidence base yet no definitive instrument exists to outline what competences are required during and post FI training.

A systematic approach commonly used in health outcomes measurement development identified and ratified components for a Family Intervention Competency Assessment and Reflection Scale (FICARS).

FICARS implementation outcomes support the increasing emphasis on continuous learning and reflective practice integral to mental health practitioners' professional practice.

Family intervention (FI) for psychosis has a robust evidence base. In recommending its use the revisedNICEschizophrenia guideline states ‘Healthcare professionals providing psychological interventions should have an appropriate level of competence’. Yet, no definitive instrument exists to outline what competences are required during and postFItraining or help recruit staff with the appropriate knowledge and skill. This paper reports on the development of aFamilyInterventionCompetencyAssessment andReflectionScale (FICARS). Using a systematic three‐staged approach commonly used in health outcomes measurement development, a comprehensive literature review onUK‐basedFItraining and commonly used assessment tools was undertaken. AFICARSdraft was then constructed and revised in consultation with expertFIclinicians. Finally, a content validity study withFItrainers and students across threeFItraining programmes was undertaken to optimizeFICARSaim to promote reflective assessment and professional development inFIskills and practice.
Assisting jurors: Promoting recall of trial information through the use of a trial‐ordered notebook
Authors: Hope Lorraine , Eales Naomi , Mirashi Arta
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This study examined the effects of note taking on juror recall of trial information and, specifically, investigated whether providing mock jurors with a pre‐structured Trial‐Ordered Notebook (TON) was more beneficial for subsequent recall than freestyle note taking by jurors. Previous research has demonstrated some benefits of freestyle note taking. However, drawing on theories relating to note taking developed in educational contexts, we predicted that providing jurors with a note taking aid designed to follow the trial structure would facilitate enhanced performance on a subsequent recall task.

Method

Community‐based participants served as mock jurors in a criminal trial and were permitted to take notes during the trial, using either the structured TON or plain paper (‘freestyle’ note taking) although participants in a control condition were not permitted to take notes. After watching the trial video, all participants reached an individual verdict and responded to cued recall questions concerning details of the trial.

Results

Mock jurors using the TON to take notes correctly recorded significantly more legally relevant details during the trial and reported more correct information in the post‐trial recall task than participants who took unaided notes (or those who made no notes at all). TON participants also reported more relevant legal information correctly in the recall task and evaluated their experience of note taking more positively than those in the free note taking condition.

Conclusions

The findings are discussed in relation to differences in individual experience of taking notes and the benefits that may accrue from an innovative juror aid such as the Trial‐Ordered Notebook.
Tactical thieves: The process building to the criminal event
Authors: Kenny James F.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The process model presented here was developed as part of safety seminars to help participants recognize criminal preferences and tactics.

Method

The assessing phase of the model identifies circumstances and target characteristics that thieves find favourable. The approaching phase identifies manipulative and deceptive tactics that thieves use to bait, distract, and control their targets.

Result

Theft is often the end result of a dynamic set of highly visible, purposeful, and progressively aggressive interactions between criminals and their targets.

Conclusion

While many thieves are highly skilled, individuals can reduce their risk of selection by limiting criminal opportunity and accessibility. Those targets that identify and respond promptly and effectively to criminal approaches may cause the thieves to withdraw.
Validity of anthropometric measurements to assess body composition, including muscle mass, in 3‐year‐old children from the SKOT cohort
Authors: Jensen Signe M. , Mølgaard Christian , Ejlerskov Katrine T. , Christensen Line B. , Michaelsen Kim F. , Briend André
Published: November 2012

Nutritional status of children is commonly assessed by anthropometry both in under and overnutrition. The link between anthropometry and body fat, the body compartment most affected by overnutrition, is well known, but the link with muscle mass, the body compartment most depleted in undernutrition, associated with infections, remains unknown. In this study, we examined the relationship between common anthropometric indices and body composition measured by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in a sample of 121 healthy 3‐year‐old Danish children. Appendicular (arms and legs) lean mass was used to estimate muscle mass. Overall, anthropometric measures were more effective to measure absolute size of fat, lean and muscle mass than their relative sizes. Proportion of the variance explained by anthropometry was 79% for lean mass, 76% for fat mass and 74% for muscle mass. For fat mass and lean mass expressed as percentage of total body mass, this proportion was 51% and 66%, respectively; and for muscle mass as percentage of lean mass it was 34%. All the best reduced multivariate models included weight, skinfold and gender except the model estimating the proportion of muscle mass in lean body mass, which included only mid‐upper arm circumference and subscapular skinfold. The power of height in the weight‐to‐height ratio to determine fat mass proportion was 1.71 with a 95% confidence interval (0.83–2.60) including the value of 2 used in body mass index (BMI). Limitations of anthropometry to assess body composition, and especially for muscle mass as a proportion of lean mass, should be acknowledged.
The Precautionary Principle and a Fair Allocation of the Burden of Proof in International Environmental Law
Authors: Ambrus Monika
Published: November 2012

Notwithstanding the general acknowledgment of its importance, there are still uncertainties and ambiguities as to the precise meaning and actual application of the precautionary principle in international environmental law. In the context of decision making at the inter‐State level, it has been explained that one of the interpretations of this principle means a ‘shift’ in the allocation of the burden of proof. Unsurprisingly, a similar effect of the principle can be, and has been, claimed in dispute settlement. Given these claims, the general aim of this article is twofold: first, to define what a ‘shift’ in the allocation of the burden of proof actually means; and second, to explore and assess whether this theoretical/conceptual understanding of the ‘shift’ is applied when the precautionary principle is at stake, and whether there are good reasons to apply it in dispute settlement and decision‐making processes.
Number and Adjectives: the Case of French Activity and Quality Nominals*
Authors: Beauseroy Delphine , Knittel Marie Laurence
Published: November 2012

Abstract. This article examines the role of Number with regards to adjective distribution in French, and focuses on two kinds of abstract nouns: activity nominals and quality nominals. We show, based on proposals byKnittel (2005), that two patterns of adjectival modification must be distinguished, on both semantic and syntactic grounds: (i) taxonomic modification, which corresponds to the expression of subkinds, is independent from the presence of NumP; (ii) qualifying modification, which occurs only if NumP is present in the nominal structure. Taxonomic modifiers qualify as direct modifiers in the sense ofCinque (2010), whereas qualifying modifiers behave either as direct or as indirect modifiers. Finally, we account for the particular behavior that activity and quality nominals display with regards to adjectival modification by suggesting, along the lines ofBorer (2005), that the Num headun(e)is responsible for the partitioning of the noun’s referent. This partitioning, in turn, enables the presence of a qualifying adjective.
Achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality in rural Africa: an experience from Burundi
Authors: Tayler‐Smith K. , Zachariah R. , Manzi M. , Van den Boogaard W. , Nyandwi G. , Reid T. , Van den Bergh R. , De Plecker E. , Lambert V. , Nicolai M. , Goetghebuer S. , Christaens B. , Ndelema B. , Kabangu A. , Manirampa J. , Harries A. D.
Published: November 2012

Objectives

To estimate the reduction in maternal mortality associated with the emergency obstetric care provided by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and to compare this to the fifth Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality.

Methods

The impact of MSF's intervention was approximated by estimating how many deaths were averted among women transferred to and treated at MSF's emergency obstetric care facility in Kabezi, Burundi, with a severe acute maternal morbidity. Using this estimate, the resulting theoretical maternal mortality ratio in Kabezi was calculated and compared to the Millennium Development Goal for Burundi.

Results

In 2011, 1385 women from Kabezi were transferred to the MSF facility, of whom 55% had a severe acute maternal morbidity. We estimated that the MSF intervention averted 74% (range 55–99%) of maternal deaths in Kabezi district, equating to a district maternal mortality rate of 208 (range 8–360) deaths/100 000 live births. This lies very near to the 2015 MDG 5 target for Burundi (285 deaths/100 000 live births).

Conclusion

Provision of quality emergency obstetric care combined with a functional patient transfer system can be associated with a rapid and substantial reduction in maternal mortality, and may thus be a possible way to achieve Millennium Development Goal 5 in rural Africa.
Responses of glomus cells to hypoxia and acidosis are uncoupled, reciprocal and linked to ASIC3 expression: selectivity of chemosensory transduction
Authors: Lu Yongjun , Whiteis Carol A. , Sluka Kathleen A. , Chapleau Mark W. , Abboud François M.
Published: November 2012

Key points

Carotid body glomus cells are activated by hypoxia and acidosis, but their capacity to differentiate between the two has been undefined.

This is the first work to quantify a differential sensory transduction of hypoxia and acidosis with reciprocal responses in individual glomus cells.

Cytoplasmic [Ca2+] in clusters of glomus cells indicates 68% of glomus cells respond to both hypoxia and acidosis but are selectively more sensitive to one or the other; the rest respond to either hypoxia (19%) or acidosis (13%).

This uncoupling/reciprocal response was recapitulated in a mouse model by genetically altering the expression of ASIC3, an acid‐sensing ion channel that we had identified in earlier studies as a mediator of pH sensitivity in carotid body.

We speculate that selective sensory transduction of glomus cells to either hypoxia or acidosis may result in activation of afferents preferentially more sensitive to hypoxia or acidosis, perhaps evoking more specific autonomic adjustments to each stimulus.

Abstract  Carotid body glomus cells are the primary sites of chemotransduction of hypoxaemia and acidosis in peripheral arterial chemoreceptors. They exhibit pronounced morphological heterogeneity. A quantitative assessment of their functional capacity to differentiate between these two major chemical signals has remained undefined. We tested the hypothesis that there is a differential sensory transduction of hypoxia and acidosis at the level of glomus cells. We measured cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration in individual glomus cells, isolated in clusters from rat carotid bodies, in response to hypoxia ( mmHg) and to acidosis at pH 6.8. More than two‐thirds (68%) were sensitive to both hypoxia and acidosis, 19% were exclusively sensitive to hypoxia and 13% exclusively sensitive to acidosis. Those sensitive to both revealed significant preferential sensitivity to either hypoxia or to acidosis. This uncoupling and reciprocity was recapitulated in a mouse model by altering the expression of the acid‐sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3) which we had identified earlier in glomus cells. Increased expression of ASIC3 in transgenic mice increased pH sensitivity while reducing cyanide sensitivity. Conversely, deletion of ASIC3 in the knockout mouse reduced pH sensitivity while the relative sensitivity to cyanide or to hypoxia was increased. In this work, we quantify functional differences among glomus cells and show reciprocal sensitivity to acidosis and hypoxia in most glomus cells. We speculate that this selective chemotransduction of glomus cells by either stimulus may result in the activation of different afferents that are preferentially more sensitive to either hypoxia or acidosis, and thus may evoke different and more specific autonomic adjustments to either stimulus.
Nonlinear Free Vibration for Electromechanical Integrated Toroidal Drive
Authors: Xu Lizhong , Wang Fen , Hao Xiuhong
Published: November 2012

Electromechanical integrated toroidal drive is an electromechanical coupled dynamics system. Here, the electromagnetic nonlinearity occurs which has important effects on the operating performance of the drive system. In this paper, the electromagnetic mesh stiffness is presented and nonlinear electromechanical coupled dynamic equations are deduced. Using the perturbation method, the nonlinear free vibrations of the drive system are investigated. Changes of the nonlinear vibration frequencies along with the system parameters are given. Results show that the electromagnetic nonlinearity has obvious effects on the vibration frequencies of the drive system. The results are useful in maximizing the power density of the drive system and reducing noise radiation.
Automatically Creating Design Models From 3D Anthropometry Data
Authors: Wuhrer Stefanie , Shu Chang , Bose Prosenjit
Published: November 2012

When designing a product that needs to fit the human shape, designers often use a small set of 3D models, called design models, either in physical or digital form, as representative shapes to cover the shape variabilities of the population for which the products are designed. Until recently, the process of creating these models has been an art involving manual interaction and empirical guesswork. The availability of the 3D anthropometric databases provides an opportunity to create design models optimally. In this paper, we propose a novel way to use 3D anthropometric databases to generate design models that represent a given population for design applications such as the sizing of garments and gear. We generate the representative shapes by solving a covering problem in a parameter space. Well-known techniques in computational geometry are used to solve this problem. We demonstrate the method using examples in designing glasses and helmets.
Dementia-Specific Gait Profile: A Computational Approach Using Signal Detection Theory and Introduction of an Index to Assess Response to Cognitive Perturbations
Authors: Karakostas T. , Davis B. , Hsiang S. , Maclagan M. , Shenk D.
Published: November 2012

Elderly diagnosed with dementia are three times more likely to fall and over three times more likely to have severe injury compared to cognitively unimpaired elderly. Consequently, there is a need to identify biomarkers that can facilitate early detection, diagnosis, and progression of dementia. One of the characteristics of dementia is the inability to allocate attentional resources to concurrent tasks. Consequently, recent studies have used walking gait in conjunction with another cognitive or motor task to identify biomarkers related to the disease. However, in every study all temporal-spatial gait descriptors are being evaluated and, typically, the nonspecific velocity, double limb support, and stride variability are reported as significant. The purpose, therefore, of this investigation was to use a computational approach to first establish a dementia-specific gait profile irrespective of walking condition (talking, without talking) using the minimum number of temporal-spatial gait descriptors, second to investigate the effect of condition, and third to investigate the effect of an everyday realistic cognitive perturbation, resulting in potential falls, by constructing an index of responsiveness. Six normal elderly and seven diagnosed with dementia walked on an instrumented walkway: (i) without talking, (ii) conversing with an investigator, and (iii) conversing with an investigator, but including as part of the conversation a cognitive perturbation in the form of an unexpected direct question. To accomplish the first two goals we implemented signal detection theory combined with receiver operator characteristic curves. Based on these results we constructed the index of responsiveness that we compared between the two cohorts. Only six of thirteen gait variables were needed to distinguish individuals with dementia from normally aging, irrespective of whether gait was used as a stand-alone task, i.e., without talking, or under a dual-task paradigm, i.e., combined with a conversation. Double limb support was the most sensitive variable to describe adaptation to walking condition. The index of responsiveness was significantly larger for individuals with dementia. The six discriminating temporal-spatial gait descriptors provide new focus for health care professionals involved in diagnosis and treatment of elderly with dementia. The index of responsiveness can be used to describe a bandwidth of safety, identifying individuals with dementia at risk of falling.
Numerical Methods for Fractional Variational Problems Depending on Indefinite Integrals
Authors: Wang Dongling , Xiao Aiguo
Published: November 2012

In this paper, the fractional variational integrators for fractional variational problems depending on indefinite integrals in terms of the Caputo derivative are developed. The corresponding fractional discrete Euler–Lagrange equations are derived. Some fractional variational integrators are presented based on the Grünwald–Letnikov formula. The fractional variational errors are discussed. Some numerical examples are given to illustrate these results.
Astrophotography on the Cheap
Authors: Niederriter Chuck , Belloni Mario
Published: November 2012

Teaching introductory astronomy means discussing celestial objects that are beyond most students' experience. Simply talking about them is usually not sufficient to convey their size, distance, complexity, and beauty.2 One way that we introduce our students to celestial objects is through observing sessions,3,4 but we have also extended these observing sessions to include astrophotography (AP). This approach relies on recent advances in the field of astrophotography. New computerized tracking and autoguiding mounts and digital still and video photography have made it easier5,6 and cheaper to take high-quality astrophotographs. While it is easy to spend $15,000 or more on a single astrophotography setup or even a single device (telescope, camera, and mount), taking simple, short-exposure photos can cost anywhere from $50 to a few hundred dollars depending on how much equipment you already have.
Another “Find-the-Flaw” Test
Authors: Grimvall Göran
Published: November 2012

Daniel F. Styer1 recently discussed physics problems where several different algebraic results are presented, and the task is to identify the correct result through reasoning based on a general understanding of physics principles. Here is a related, but more general, problem. A graph with several quite disparate captions is presented (Fig. 1). The task is to find the only caption that could be correct.
Rainbow Near Midday
Authors: Cornell David A.
Published: November 2012

It was near midday on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011. My family and I were coming home in the car when we saw strongly colored bands in the sky near the northern horizon. The effect was striking and attracted motorists to stop and gaze at it. Houses in the north seemed to be wearing a gently curving band of colors above the roof. If this were a rainbow, it was like no other that I had seen before. I quickly ran to get a camera to capture the effect before it vanished. See Fig. 1 for an image of the phenomenon.
Teaching the Concept of Resonance with the Help of a Classical Guitar
Authors: Kasar M. Kaan , Yurumezoglu Kemal , Sengoren Serap Kaya
Published: November 2012

Resonance refers to the vibrations of larger amplitude that are produced under the effect of a harmonic driving force.1 Although resonance is an essential concept behind many events happening in nature, students usually have difficulty in learning and explaining the phenomenon. Various demonstrations are carried out in physics classes to clarify the concept of resonance.2–6
Attractor Landscape Analysis Reveals Feedback Loops in the p53 Network That Control the Cellular Response to DNA Damage
Authors: Choi Minsoo , Shi Jue , Jung Sung Hoon , Chen Xi , Cho Kwang-Hyun
Published: November 2012

State-space analysis of the p53 network identifies a therapeutic strategy for treating cancer.
Directing Receptors into Cilia
Authors: Gough Nancy R.
Published: November 2012

SUMOylation of the guanosine triphosphatase ARL13B is required for proper targeting of sensory receptors into primary cilia.
Antiphospholipid syndrome presenting with acute digital ischaemia, avascular necrosis of the femoral head and superior mesenteric artery thrombus
Authors: Crome Christopher Robert , Rajagopalan Sriram , Kuhan Ganesh , Fluck Nicholas
Published: November 2012

This case illustrates a rare and unique case of a 73-year-old woman who presents with a rapidly developing digital ischaemia, superior mesenteric artery thrombus with positive-lupus anticoagulant. She then developed avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Discussion of the process of diagnosis and management of antiphospholipid syndrome and catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome are reported.
Health literacy, health empowerment and health information search in the field of MMR vaccination: a cross-sectional study protocol
Authors: Diviani Nicola , Camerini Anne-Linda , Reinholz Danuta , Galfetti Alessandra , Schulz Peter J
Published: November 2012

Objectives

Although public health offices have a detailed record of the vaccination coverage among adolescents in Switzerland, little is known about the factors that determine the decisions of parents to get their children vaccinated. Based on Schulz & Nakamoto's Extended Health Empowerment Model, the present study aims at surveying parents of adolescents in Ticino (Switzerland) to get insights into the role of health literacy, health empowerment, information search behaviour and potential confounding variables that influence whether adolescents are not at all vaccinated, undervaccinated or fully covered against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR).

Methods and analysis

A survey including concepts of the Extended Health Empowerment Model will be administered to all families with adolescents attending the third year of middle school in Ticino. Subsequently, survey responses will be matched with actual data on MMR vaccination coverage of adolescents collected from the Cantonal Office of Public Health in Ticino.

Discussion

The results of this study will allow one to draw more comprehensive conclusions about the factors that play a role in parents’ decisions regarding the vaccination of their children. At the same time, the study will provide useful insights on which are the main issues to be considered when addressing parents (on an interpersonal as well as a mass communication level) regarding the vaccination of their children.
National HIV prevalence estimates for sub-Saharan Africa: controlling selection bias with Heckman-type selection models
Authors: Hogan Daniel R , Salomon Joshua A , Canning David , Hammitt James K , Zaslavsky Alan M , Bärnighausen Till
Published: November 2012

Objectives

Population-based HIV testing surveys have become central to deriving estimates of national HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa. However, limited participation in these surveys can lead to selection bias. We control for selection bias in national HIV prevalence estimates using a novel approach, which unlike conventional imputation can account for selection on unobserved factors.

Methods

For 12 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted from 2001 to 2009 (N=138 300), we predict HIV status among those missing a valid HIV test with Heckman-type selection models, which allow for correlation between infection status and participation in survey HIV testing. We compare these estimates with conventional ones and introduce a simulation procedure that incorporates regression model parameter uncertainty into confidence intervals.

Results

Selection model point estimates of national HIV prevalence were greater than unadjusted estimates for 10 of 12 surveys for men and 11 of 12 surveys for women, and were also greater than the majority of estimates obtained from conventional imputation, with significantly higher HIV prevalence estimates for men in Cote d'Ivoire 2005, Mali 2006 and Zambia 2007. Accounting for selective non-participation yielded 95% confidence intervals around HIV prevalence estimates that are wider than those obtained with conventional imputation by an average factor of 4.5.

Conclusions

Our analysis indicates that national HIV prevalence estimates for many countries in sub-Saharan African are more uncertain than previously thought, and may be underestimated in several cases, underscoring the need for increasing participation in HIV surveys. Heckman-type selection models should be included in the set of tools used for routine estimation of HIV prevalence.
Estimated mortality of adult HIV-infected patients starting treatment with combination antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Yiannoutsos Constantin Theodore , Johnson Leigh Francis , Boulle Andrew , Musick Beverly Sue , Gsponer Thomas , Balestre Eric , Law Matthew , Shepherd Bryan E , Egger Matthias
Published: November 2012

Objective

To provide estimates of mortality among HIV-infected patients starting combination antiretroviral therapy.

Methods

We report on the death rates from 122 925 adult HIV-infected patients aged 15 years or older from East, Southern and West Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. We use two methods to adjust for biases in mortality estimation resulting from loss from follow-up, based on double-sampling methods applied to patient outreach (Kenya) and linkage with vital registries (South Africa), and apply these to mortality estimates in the other three regions. Age, gender and CD4 count at the initiation of therapy were the factors considered as predictors of mortality at 6, 12, 24 and >24 months after the start of treatment.

Results

Patient mortality was high during the first 6 months after therapy for all patient subgroups and exceeded 40 per 100 patient years among patients who started treatment at low CD4 count. This trend was seen regardless of region, demographic or disease-related risk factor. Mortality was under-reported by up to or exceeding 100% when comparing estimates obtained from passive monitoring of patient vital status.

Conclusions

Despite advances in antiretroviral treatment coverage many patients start treatment at very low CD4 counts and experience significant mortality during the first 6 months after treatment initiation. Active patient tracing and linkage with vital registries are critical in adjusting estimates of mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income settings.
HADRON AMPLITUDES IN COMPOSITE SUPERCONFORMAL STRING MODEL
Authors: KUDRYAVTSEV V. A. , SEMENOVA A. N.
Published: November 2012

Dynamics of π, K-mesons interactions is formulated in terms of composite superconformal string model. Supersymmetry is defined on two-dimensional world surface only. Dimensionality of target space equals to four. The model treats usual hadron scale which is of order 1 GeV-2, as string scale α′. Intercept of leading meson trajectory equals to ½. Tree amplitudes are free from ghosts in physical state spectrum in accordance with usual classical superstring amplitudes. Interaction of π-mesons in the chiral limit in the model turns out in correspondence with description in terms of chiral Lagrangian for pions in QCD.
Electrochemistry and spectroelectrochemistry of carboxyphenylethynyl porphyrins
Authors: Chao Pei-Shang , Kuo Ming-Yu , Lo Chen-Fu , Hsieh Min-Hsu , Cheng Yu-Hsiang , Wang Chin-Li , Lu Hsiu-Yu , Kuo Hshin-Hui , Hsiao Yen-Ni , Wang Chieh-Ming , Lin Ching-Yao
Published: November 2012

Zinc 5-(4-carboxy-phenylethynyl)-10,20-biphenylporphines bearing various substituents on the 10,20-phenyl rings are studied for their electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical properties. Cyclic voltammetry and optically transparent thin-layer electrochemical measurements suggest that the first reductions of these porphyrins should be the reduction reaction of the carboxylic protons. For the porphyrin ring reactions, our study shows that the redox properties can be significantly affected by the alkoxyl chains on the 10,20-phenyl rings.
TRIANGULAR MATRIX REPRESENTATION OF SKEW GENERALIZED POWER SERIES RINGS
Authors: Singh Amit Bhooshan
Published: November 2012

Let R be a ring, (S, ≤) a strictly ordered monoid and ω : S → End (R) a monoid homomorphism. In this paper, we study the triangular matrix representation of skew generalized power series ring R[[S, ω]] which is a compact generalization of (skew) polynomial rings, (skew) power series rings, (skew) Laurent polynomials rings, (skew) Laurent power series rings, (skew) group rings, (skew) monoid rings, Mal'cev–Neumann rings and generalized power series rings. We investigate that if R is S-compatible and (S, ω)-Armendariz, then the skew generalized power series ring has same triangulating dimension as R. Furthermore, if R is a PWP ring, then skew generalized power series is also PWP ring.
Practical typed lazy contracts
Authors: Chitil Olaf
Published: November 2012

Until now there has been no support for specifying and enforcing contracts within a lazy functional program. That is a shame, because contracts consist of pre- and post-conditions for functions that go beyond the standard static types. This paper presents the design and implementation of a small, easy-to-use, purely functional contract library for Haskell, which, when a contract is violated, also provides more useful information than the classical blaming of one contract partner. From now on lazy functional languages can profit from the assurances in the development of correct programs that contracts provide.
Type-based safe resource deallocation for shared-memory concurrency
Authors: Suenaga Kohei , Fukuda Ryota , Igarashi Atsushi
Published: November 2012

We propose a type system to guarantee safe resource deallocation for shared-memory concurrent programs by extending the previous type system based on fractional ownerships. Here, safe resource deallocation means that memory cells, locks, or threads are not left allocated when a program terminates. Our framework supports (1) fork/join parallelism, (2) synchronization with locks, and (3) dynamically allocated memory cells and locks. The type system is proved to be sound. We also provide a type inference algorithm for the type system and a prototype implementation of the algorithm.
Kitsune
Authors: Hayden Christopher M. , Smith Edward K. , Denchev Michail , Hicks Michael , Foster Jeffrey S.
Published: November 2012

Dynamic software updating (DSU) systems allow programs to be updated while running, thereby permitting developers to add features and fix bugs without downtime. This paper introduces Kitsune, a new DSU system for C whose design has three notable features. First, Kitsune's updating mechanism updates the whole program, not individual functions. This mechanism is more flexible than most prior approaches and places no restrictions on data representations or allowed compiler optimizations. Second, Kitsune makes the important aspects of updating explicit in the program text, making the program's semantics easy to understand while minimizing programmer effort. Finally, the programmer can write simple specifications to direct Kitsune to generate code that traverses and transforms old-version state for use by new code; such state transformation is often necessary, and is significantly more difficult in prior DSU systems. We have used Kitsune to update five popular, open-source, single- and multi-threaded programs, and find that few program changes are required to use Kitsune, and that it incurs essentially no performance overhead.
Work-stealing without the baggage
Authors: Kumar Vivek , Frampton Daniel , Blackburn Stephen M. , Grove David , Tardieu Olivier
Published: November 2012

Work-stealing is a promising approach for effectively exploiting software parallelism on parallel hardware. A programmer who uses work-stealing explicitly identifies potential parallelism and the runtime then schedules work, keeping otherwise idle hardware busy while relieving overloaded hardware of its burden. Prior work has demonstrated that work-stealing is very effective in practice. However, work-stealing comes with a substantial overhead: as much as 2x to 12x slowdown over orthodox sequential code.

In this paper we identify the key sources of overhead in work-stealing schedulers and present two significant refinements to their implementation. We evaluate our work-stealing designs using a range of benchmarks, four different work-stealing implementations, including the popular fork-join framework, and a range of architectures. On these benchmarks, compared to orthodox sequential Java, our fastest design has an overhead of just 15%. By contrast, fork-join has a 2.3x overhead and the previous implementation of the system we use has an overhead of 4.1x. These results and our insight into the sources of overhead for work-stealing implementations give further hope to an already promising technique for exploiting increasingly available hardware parallelism.
A black-box approach to understanding concurrency in DaCapo
Authors: Kalibera Tomas , Mole Matthew , Jones Richard , Vitek Jan
Published: November 2012

Increasing levels of hardware parallelism are one of the main challenges for programmers and implementers of managed runtimes. Any concurrency or scalability improvements must be evaluated experimentally. However, application benchmarks available today may not reflect the highly concurrent applications we anticipate in the future. They may also behave in ways that VM developers do not expect. We provide a set of platform independent concurrency related metrics and an in-depth observational study of current state of the art benchmarks, discovering how concurrent they really are, how they scale the work and how they synchronise and communicate via shared memory.
Automatically enhancing locality for tree traversals with traversal splicing
Authors: Jo Youngjoon , Kulkarni Milind
Published: November 2012

Generally applicable techniques for improving temporal locality in irregular programs, which operate over pointer-based data structures such as trees and graphs, are scarce. Focusing on a subset of irregular programs, namely, tree traversal algorithms like Barnes-Hut and nearest neighbor, previous work has proposed point blocking, a technique analogous to loop tiling in regular programs, to improve locality. However point blocking is highly dependent on point sorting, a technique to reorder points so that consecutive points will have similar traversals. Performing this a priori sort requires an understanding of the semantics of the algorithm and hence highly application specific techniques. In this work, we propose traversal splicing, a new, general, automatic locality optimization for irregular tree traversal codes, that is less sensitive to point order, and hence can deliver substantially better performance, even in the absence of semantic information. For six benchmark algorithms, we show that traversal splicing can deliver single-thread speedups of up to 9.147 (geometric mean: 3.095) over baseline implementations, and up to 4.752 (geometric mean: 2.079) over point-blocked implementations. Further, we show that in many cases, automatically applying traversal splicing to a baseline implementation yields performance that is better than carefully hand-optimized implementations.
Chaperones and impersonators
Authors: Strickland T. Stephen , Tobin-Hochstadt Sam , Findler Robert Bruce , Flatt Matthew
Published: November 2012

Chaperones and impersonators provide run-time support for interposing on primitive operations such as function calls, array access and update, and structure field access and update. Unlike most interposition support, chaperones and impersonators are restricted so that they constrain the behavior of the interposing code to reasonable interposition, which in practice preserves the abstraction mechanisms and reasoning that programmers and compiler analyses rely on.

Chaperones and impersonators are particularly useful for implementing contracts, and our implementation in Racket allows us to improve both the expressiveness and the performance of Racket's contract system. Specifically, contracts on mutable data can be enforced without changing the API to that data; contracts on large data structures can be checked lazily on only the accessed parts of the structure; contracts on objects and classes can be implemented with lower overhead; and contract wrappers can preserve object equality where appropriate. With this extension, gradual typing systems, such as Typed Racket, that rely on contracts for interoperation with untyped code can now pass mutable values safely between typed and untyped modules.
Understanding the behavior of database operations under program control
Authors: Tamayo Juan M. , Aiken Alex , Bronson Nathan , Sagiv Mooly
Published: November 2012

Applications that combine general program logic with persistent databases (e.g., three-tier applications) often suffer large performance penalties from poor use of the database. We introduce a program analysis technique that combines information flow in the program with commutativity analysis of its database operations to produce a unified dependency graph for database statements, which provides programmers with a high-level view of how costly database operations are and how they are connected in the program. As an example application of our analysis we describe three optimizations that can be discovered by examining the structure of the dependency graph; each helps remove communication latency from the critical path of a multi-tier system. We implement our technique in a tool for Java applications using JDBC and experimentally validate it using the multi-tier component of the Dacapo benchmark.
Global Convergence for Cohen‐Grossberg Neural Networks with Discontinuous Activation Functions
Authors: Wang Yanyan , Zhou Jianping
Published: November 2012

Cohen‐Grossberg neural networks with discontinuous activation functions is considered. Using the property of M‐matrix and a generalized Lyapunov‐like approach, the uniqueness is proved for state solutions and corresponding output solutions, and equilibrium point and corresponding output equilibrium point of considered neural networks. Meanwhile, global exponential stability of equilibrium point is obtained. Furthermore, by contraction mapping principle, the uniqueness and globally exponential stability of limit cycle are given. Finally, an example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.
A Case of Extrusion of a Solid Silicone Tire Migrating through the Superior Rectus Muscle withAeromonas hydrophilaInfection following a Scleral Buckling Procedure
Authors: Makino Shinji , Sato Yukihiro
Published: November 2012

To our knowledge, there are no reports ofAeromonas hydrophilainfection after a scleral buckling procedure. Also, migration of a silicone explant element through the rectus muscles is extremely rare. Herein, we describe a case experiencing extrusion of a solid silicone tire migrating through the superior rectus muscle withAeromonas hydrophilainfection following a scleral buckling procedure. A 42-year-old man was referred to our hospital complaining of ocular pain and purulent discharge in his left eye which has persisted for several months. He had a history of bilateral rhegmatogenous retinal detachment which had been treated with scleral buckling. The left eye showed extrusion of the solid silicone buckle which had migrated through the superior rectus muscle and an infection in the upper quadrant of the sclera. The buckle was removed, and the patient was treated with antibiotics. After the removal of the buckle, the symptoms showed rapid amelioration and there was no recurrence of retinal detachment.Aeromonas hydrophilawas isolated from the discharge and the removed explant. He used well water in daily life. In this case, theAeromonas hydrophilainfection of the extruded buckle might have originated from contaminated well water.