bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mediastinitis after coronary artery bypass grafting increases the incidence of left internal mammary artery obstruction
Authors: Risnes Ivar , Abdelnoor Michael , Ulimoen Geir , Rynning Stein Erik , Veel Terje , Svennevig Jan L , Lundblad Runar , Borthne Arne
Published: December 2012

Mediastinitis after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) gives a longstanding chronic inflammation and has a detrimental negative effect on long‐term survival. For this reason, we aimed to study the effect of mediastinitis on graft patency after CABG. The epidemiologic design was of an exposed (mediastinitis, n = 41) versus non‐exposed (non‐mediastinitis, controls, n = 41) cohort with two endpoints: (i) obstruction of saphenous vein grafts (SVG) and (ii) obstruction of the internal mammary artery (IMA) grafts. The graft patency was evaluated with coronary CT‐angiography examination at a median follow‐up of 2·7 years. The number of occluded SVG in the mediastinitis group was 18·9% versus 15·5% in the control group. Using generalized estimating equations model with exchangeable matrix, and confounding effect of ischaemic time and patients age, we found no significant association between presence of mediastinitis and SVG obstruction [rate ratio (RR) = 0·96, 95% CI (0·52–2·67), P = 0·697]. The number of occluded IMA grafts was 10·5% in the mediastinitis group and 2·4% in the control group. Using the Poisson regression model, we estimated RR = 5·48, 95% CI (1·43–21·0) and P = 0·013. There was a significant association between mediastinitis and IMA graft obstruction, when controlling for the confounding effect of ischaemic time, body mass index, presence of diabetes mellitus and the number of diseased vessels. Presence of mediastinitis increases the risk of IMA graft obstruction. This may confirm the importance of inflammation as a major contributor to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and explain the negative effect of mediastinitis on a long‐term survival.
Factors that influence user satisfaction: tracheotomised home mechanical ventilation users’ experiences
Authors: Dyrstad Dagrunn N , Hansen Britt S , Gundersen Evy M
Published: December 2012

Aims and objectives

To describe the self‐reported life situation of users totally dependent on home mechanical ventilation (HMV) after tracheotomy and to identify factors associated with user satisfaction.

Background

HMV users are a small but growing group in society and among the most vulnerable individuals with chronic disabilities. The participants in the present study belong to an even more susceptible minority of this group, as they require round the clock ventilation at home through a tracheostomy, implying the need for continuous care. Their testimonies are important for the generation of new knowledge.

Design

A qualitative design using interviews.

Methods

Individual interviews were conducted with six participants and analysed by qualitative content analysis.

Results

The main theme that emerged different individual needs require a range of approaches was based on three sub‐themes: (1) Tailored information (2) Sensitivity in decision‐making and (3) Building trust and confidence. Information was perceived as crucial and participants described different experiences of receiving optimal information to not receiving information at all. Successful collaboration was perceived when the user was given the opportunity to participate in decision‐making about her/his treatment and care, where to live and how to organise daily life. Trust and confidence in the caregivers were important.

Conclusion

The participants highlighted the need for strategies to improve satisfaction. Their experiences varied depending on age, where they lived, who they encountered in the healthcare system and the level of family support. Our findings suggest that patients who perceive themselves as well informed at an early stage are more satisfied with treatment, decisions about their tracheotomy and their life situation.

Relevance to clinical practice

There is a lack of knowledge among healthcare providers, thus tailored, high competence and guidelines are required.
A Hybrid Classification Matching Method for Geospatial Services
Authors: Wang Yandong , Li Hao , Luo An
Published: December 2012

With the development of the Internet and GIS, large volumes of spatial data and powerful computing resources are increasingly published in the form of Web services. Given the variety and number of geospatial services advertised online, finding appropriate geospatial services has become a tremendous challenge for potential users. Geospatial service classification provides a basis for developing matching criteria to improve the efficiency of service discovery. At present, most classification‐based matching methods require users to provide classification descriptions using a specified taxonomy. These requirements seriously limit the application of classification‐based matching. To solve these kinds of problems, this article presents a hybrid geospatial service classification‐matching method. Based on the differences in classification descriptions, three strategies are proposed: (1) the existing classification matching method is used for requests with classifications described using homogeneous taxonomies; (2) a formal‐concept‐analysis‐based service classification matching method is proposed for service requests with classifications described using heterogeneous taxonomies; and (3) an interface‐similarity‐based service classification decision method is proposed for requests without classification descriptions. The feasibility of the hybrid geospatial service classification matching method is verified by two sets of experiments. The results reveal that this method can effectively broaden the application of classification‐based matching in geospatial service discovery.
A Catalogue Service for Internet GIServices Supporting Active Service Evaluation and Real‐Time Quality Monitoring
Authors: Shen Shengyu , Zhang Tong , Wu Huayi , Liu Zhijia
Published: December 2012

Internet‐based Geographical Information Services (GIServices) have exploded in depth and variety over the past few years. More and more academic institutions, private companies, and even individuals publish their own geographical information resources in the form of GIServices on the Internet. In today's resource‐rich environment, fast and accurate service discovery is a significant problem for industry and academia, as well as regular users. To solve this problem, researchers introduced Service‐Oriented Architecture (SOA) to the domain of GIServices. Being the core of SOA, a registry catalogue implements message exchange services. But current catalog service mechanisms lack the capability to search services, to monitor and to provide accurate descriptions for quality of service in an active manner. Therefore, current catalogue services are not able to overcome problems such as limited registered resources, inaccurate registration information and the uncertainty of service status in various geospatial applications. A catalogue framework for GIServices is proposed that effectively integrates the Quality of GIServices (QoGIService) theory, as well as service crawling/search and dynamic monitoring techniques. A prototype application focused on Web Map Services (WMS) was established that mitigated the abovementioned problems through active service evaluation and real‐time quality monitoring mechanisms.
A Task Ontology Driven Approach for Live Geoprocessing in a Service‐Oriented Environment
Authors: Sun Ziheng , Yue Peng , Lu Xianchang , Zhai Xi , Hu Lei
Published: December 2012

In a service‐oriented environment, Web geoprocessing services can provide geoprocessing functions for a variety of applications including Sensor Web. Connecting Sensor Web and geoprocessing services together shows great potentail to support live geoprocessing using real‐time data inputs. This article proposes a task ontology driven approach to live geoprocessing. The task in the ontology contains five aspects: task type, task priority, task constraints, task model, and task process. The use of the task ontology in driving live geoprocessing includes the following steps: (1) Task model generation, which generates a concrete process model to fulfill user demands; (2) Process model instantiation, which transforms the process model into an executable workflow; (3) Workflow execution: the workflow engine executes the workflow to generate value‐added data products using Sensor Web data as inputs. The approach not only helps create semantically correct connections between Sensor Web and Web geoprocessing services, but also provides sharable problem solving knowledge using process models. A prototype system, which leverages Web 2.0, Sensor Web, Semantic Web, and geoprocessing services, is developed to demonstrate the applicability of the approach.
Metadata Harvesting and Registration in a Geospatial Sensor Web Registry
Authors: Zhai Xi , Zhu Xinyan , Lu Xianchang , Yuan Jie , Li Ming , Yue Peng
Published: December 2012

A Sensor Web registry acts as a broker in a service‐oriented environment to publish and discover Sensor Web resources (e.g. sensors, sensor services, observations, and alerts). The Catalogue Service for the Web (CSW) developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) defines a standard interface and protocol for publishing and discovering geospatial resources. This article adopts the CSW for the development of a Sensor Web registry. Metadata for Sensor Web resources are registered into the catalogue information model – the ebXML Registry Information Model (ebRIM). In the Sensor Web environment, sensor observations can be available in real‐time or near‐real‐time, and thus metadata registered in CSW need to be updated frequently. This article proposes an incremental harvesting approach, which can harvest the updated metadata efficiently. A prototypical implementation is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the approach.
Scarring Effects of Remaining Unemployed for Long-Term Unemployed School-Leavers
Authors: Cockx Bart , Picchio Matteo
Published: December 2012

This study investigates whether and to what extent further unemployment experience for youths who are already long term unemployed imposes a penalty on subsequent labour market outcomes. We propose a flexible method for analysing the effect on wages aside from transitions from unemployment and employment within a multivariate duration model which controls for selection on observables and unobservables. We find that prolonging unemployment drastically decreases the chances of finding employment but hardly affects the quality of subsequent employment. The analysis suggests that negative duration dependence in the job finding rate is induced by negative signalling and not by human capital depreciation.
THE PRAGMATIC CONFUCIAN APPROACH TO TRADITION IN MODERNIZING CHINA
Authors: TAN SOR‐HOON
Published: December 2012

This paper explores the Confucian veneration of the past and its commitment to transmitting the tradition of the sages. It does so by placing it in the context of the historical trajectory from the May Fourth attacks on Confucianism and its scientistic, iconoclastic approach to “saving China,” to similar approaches to China's modernization in later decades, through the market reforms that launched China into global capitalism, to the revival of Confucianism in recent years. It reexamines the association of the Pragmatism of John Dewey and Hu Shih with the scientistic iconoclasm of the May Fourth Movement and argues that a broader scrutiny of Dewey's and Hu's works, beyond the period when Dewey visited China, reveals a more balanced treatment of tradition, science, and modernization. Pragmatists believe in reconstructing, not destroying, traditions in their pursuit of growth for individuals and communities. Despite a tension between the progress‐oriented historical consciousness that Dewey inherited from the Enlightenment (a consciousness that some consider as characteristic of modern Western historiography) and the historical consciousness underlying Chinese historiographical tradition (one that views the past as a didactic “mirror”), it is possible to reconcile the Pragmatic reconstruction of tradition with the Confucian veneration of the past. This paper argues for a Pragmatic Confucian approach to Chinese traditions that is selective in its transmission of the past and flexible enough in its “preservation” to allow for progressive change.
TRADITION: A PRINCIPLE OF HISTORICAL SENSE‐GENERATION AND ITS LOGIC AND EFFECT IN HISTORICAL CULTURE
Authors: RÜSEN JÖRN
Published: December 2012

This article is divided into five parts. After a brief example in the first part, the second explains what historical sense‐generation is about. The third characterizes tradition as a pregiven condition of all historical thinking. With respect to this condition, the constructivist theory of history is criticized as one‐sided. The fourth part presents tradition as one of the four basic sense criteria of historical narration. The article concludes with a discussion of the role of tradition in the historical culture of modern societies.

Historical sense‐generation is a mental procedure by which the past is interpreted for the sake of understanding the present and anticipating the future. This mental procedure is an anthropological universal in the cultural orientation of human practical life and will lead to a concept of the course of time as a necessary factor in the cultural orientation of human life.

Today the dominant opinion in metahistory conceives of historical sense‐generation in a constructivist way. The sense of the past is understood as an ascription of meaning onto the past; the past itself has no impact on this meaning. But I hold that the past is already present (as a result of historical developments) in the circumstances and conditions under which historical thinking is performed and is obviously influenced by it. This presence can be called tradition. Before historians construct the past they themselves are already constructed by the present outcome of past developments in the world. Thus tradition is always at work in historical thinking before the past is thematized as history.

Historical sense‐generation needs basic principles of sense and meaning. Using these principles transforms the experience of the past into a meaningful history for the present. Despite cultural differences, four sense criteria can be identified as basic for making historical sense of the past. One of the four principles is tradition. It is the most fundamental one upon which all other modes of making sense of the past are grounded. It presents temporal change in the human world such that the world's order is maintained despite all its changes. Since the emergence of the so‐called advanced civilizations, other types of historical narration have overshadowed the constitutive role of tradition. Historical narration has been supplemented by exemplary, genetic, and critical approaches to the past. Yet the traditional one has remained the most frequently used and is the most basic and popular.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE RUSSIAN TRADITION OF STATE POWER
Authors: POMPER PHILIP
Published: December 2012

The first part of this evolutionary study of the persistence of the autocratic/oligarchic variety of personal rule in Russia provides a historical overview, followed by two theories explaining why it persisted, interrupted by brief “times of troubles,” for over 500 years. Edward Keenan, on the one hand, hypothesizes successful long‐term adaptation to a demanding environment. Richard Hellie, on the other hand, develops a theory of service‐class revolutions and a cyclical pattern based on the methods of Russian elites for overcoming relative backwardness. Neither theory takes a neo‐Darwinian approach.

The second part examines neo‐Darwinian evolutionary approaches. In the cosmic perspective of Big History, the human species in its relatively brief existence has had an accelerating impact on other species and the earth's environment. Biologists modeling complex systems come to a similar conclusion. Agent‐driven history, as modeled by demographer Noël Bonneuil, raises questions about the adequacy of the historian's traditional single‐trajectory narrative approach to “the time of human history” and also critiques the biases built into the mathematical models of many evolutionary thinkers. An evolutionary approach to human history does not restrict itself to organic replication, but takes into account populations of evolving human skills and also group projects that act as evolutionary forces as well as units of selection, and outlive generations of organic populations.

The third part applies this approach to the Russian tradition of state power by showing how group projects operate as evolutionary forces in a variety of modern power systems. The “parable of the tribes” avers that the aggressive agent in any given power system—ideological, economic, social, military, or political—dictates the dynamics of the system. The “braided stream” approach shows, however sketchily here, how agent‐driven modern power systems interact, coevolve, and produce hybrid forms. The Russian tradition is highlighted in this evolutionary context.
DISCIPLINING TRADITION IN MODERN CHINA: TWO CASE STUDIES
Authors: MAKEHAM JOHN
Published: December 2012

This essay highlights the influential role played by epistemological nativism in the disciplining of tradition in modern China. Chinese epistemological nativism is the view that the articulation and development of China's intellectual heritage must draw exclusively on the paradigms and norms of so‐called indigenous/local or China‐based perspectives. Two case studies are presented to reveal some of the conundrums that confront the disciplining of tradition in modern China: Chinese philosophy and guoxue or National Studies. These case studies also provide an opportunity to reflect on the implications this has for tradition's place in Chinese modernity.

In the case of the discipline of Chinese philosophy the role of epistemological nativism is evident in widespread calls to return Chinese philosophy to some pristine form, predating its encounter with “Western” philosophy; and in the continued refusal to acknowledge and engage the intellectual diversity of the traditions that contribute to Chinese philosophy's composite identity. To illustrate this latter claim, I focus on the prominent example of Buddhist philosophy and its Indian roots.

As for the second case study, National Studies has been revived as a discipline, marked as distinct from all other disciplines, because of claims that it represents a holistic body of learning. National Studies' connection with various traditions of premodern learning is premised on the romantic conceit that these traditions of premodern learning somehow constituted a holistic, even organic, body of learning. The conundrum for contemporary guoxue protagonists, who present guoxue as a holistic body of learning, is that the stronger the claim made that guoxue warrants disciplinary status—and hence to be subjected to disciplinary subdivision—the weaker the case that guoxue is a holistic body of learning. This situation is further exacerbated by the fact that guoxue is an invented tradition.
BACK TO WHERE WE'VE NEVER BEEN: HEIDEGGER, LEVINAS, AND DERRIDA ON TRADITION AND HISTORY
Authors: KLEINBERG ETHAN
Published: December 2012

This paper will address the topic of “tradition” by exploring the ways that Martin Heidegger, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jacques Derrida each looked to return to traditional texts in order to overcome a perceived crisis or delimiting fault in the contemporary thought of their respective presents. For Heidegger, this meant a return to the pre‐Socratics of “early Greek thinking.” For Levinas, it entailed a return to the sacred Jewish texts of the Talmud. For Derrida, it was the return to texts that embodied the “Western metaphysical tradition,” be it by Plato, Descartes, Rousseau, or Marx. I then want to ask whether these reflections can be turned so as to shed light on three resilient trends in the practice of history that I will label positivist, speculative or teleological, and constructivist. By correlating the ways that Heidegger, Levinas, and Derrida utilize and employ “tradition” with the historical trends of positivism, speculative/teleological history, and constructivism, I hope to produce an engagement between theorists whose concerns implicate history even though they may not be explicitly historical, and historians who may not realize the ways that their work coincides with the claims of these theorists.
Post‐emergence handling of green turtle hatchlings: improving hatchery management worldwide
Authors: van de Merwe J. P. , Ibrahim K. , Whittier J. M.
Published: December 2012

Hatcheries are commonly used to protect sea turtle eggs from poaching and predation; however, there is currently limited scientific evidence to support good hatchery management practices, particularly post‐hatching. This study investigated the effects of retaining hatchlings in hatcheries after emergence and delaying nest excavations on the quality of green turtle Chelonia mydas hatchlings. In addition, the effect of artificial lighting on the sea‐finding ability of green turtles was investigated to highlight the importance of hatchling release locations on hatchery beaches. Hatchling running speed, an indicator of vigour and predation exposure, progressively decreased when hatchlings were retained in the hatchery for 1, 3 and 6 hours following emergence. Similarly, body condition (mass : straight carapace length), an indicator of dehydration and/or energy consumption, decreased after being retained for 3 and 6 hours. It was estimated that hatchlings retained for 6 hours after emergence would become significantly dehydrated and double their exposure to beach slope predation. Residual hatchlings that were immediately excavated from emerged nests had similar running speed and body condition to naturally emerged siblings. However, residual hatchlings removed from nests 5 days later had significantly reduced running speed and body condition, resulting in estimates of double the exposure to predation in near‐shore areas. The mean angle of hatchling dispersal varied at different sites along the Ma’Daerah beach in relation to proximity to artificial lighting. Important recommendations for post‐hatching management of sea turtle hatcheries worldwide can be made from the results of this study. To maximize release of hatchlings in the best condition as is possible, hatchlings should be released immediately after emergence, including excavation of any residual hatchlings. In addition, the dispersal angles of hatchlings should be tested at each hatchery beach to determine suitable release sites for efficient dispersal.
TRANSITORY MARKET STATES AND THE JOINT OCCURRENCE OF MOMENTUM AND MEAN REVERSION
Authors: Balvers Ronald J. , Hu Ou , Huang Dayong
Published: December 2012

In this article we derive and investigate the implications of the Fama–French and Poterba–Summers model—in which the market price of equity contains permanent and temporary components—to explain cross‐sectional differences in equity risk premia and returns. Shocks to the transitory component are regarded a Merton risk factor. We obtain estimates from a simple Kalman decomposition of the market price. The transitory component estimate is used in a conditional capital asset pricing model to test implications of the model related to predictability, cross‐sectional performance, and the existence of momentum and mean reversion.
SEASONED EQUITY ISSUERS’ R&D INVESTMENTS: SIGNALING OR OVEROPTIMISM
Authors: Qian Hong , Zhong Ke , Zhong Zhaodong (Ken)
Published: December 2012

It is well known that investors often react negatively to the announcements of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). We posit that issuers can use positive discretionary (higher than expected) R&D investments before the SEO to signal their investment prospects to mitigate the negative announcement effect. Alternatively, positive discretionary R&D may be attributed to managerial overoptimism about future returns of R&D investments. We find strong support for the signaling hypothesis among high‐tech issuers: investors respond more favorably to the SEO announcements of high‐tech issuers with positive discretionary R&D; these issuers are more likely to use new capital in future R&D and they produce better post‐SEO operating performance. In contrast, we find some evidence of managerial overoptimism among low‐tech issuers: investors tend to penalize low‐tech firms with positive discretionary R&D at SEO announcements; they are more likely to hold new capital as cash and they fail to produce better post‐SEO operating performance.
Effect of Ventral Slot Procedure on Spinal Cord Compression in Dogs with Single Static Intervertebral Disc Disease: Preliminary Findings while Evaluating a Semiquantitative Computed Tomographic Myelographic Score of Spinal Cord Compression
Authors: Böttcher Peter , Böttcher Irene Christine , Truar Katrin , Ludewig Eberhard , Oechtering Gerhard , Flegel Thomas
Published: December 2012

Objective

To (1) evaluate pre‐ and postoperative cervical spinal cord compression (SCC) in the context of uncomplicated ventral slot (VS) decompression using computed tomographic (CT) myelography and (2) report reliability of a semiquantitative SCC score using CT myelography.

Study Design

Prospective and retrospective, clinical pilot study.

Animals

Dogs (n = 17) with single static intervertebral disc disease.

Methods

On matched pre‐ and postoperative transverse CT myelographic images, degree and lateralization of extradural SCC were scored by 4 blinded independent observers, followed by consensus finding. Inter‐ and intraobserver variability was quantified using intraclass correlation (ICC). Nonparametric tests were performed comparing pre‐ and postoperative SCC, correlation with neurologic status and significance of lateralization.

Results

Because of invisible contrast agent, only 13 dogs could be fully evaluated. After VS, SCC was significantly reduced whereas neurologic function significantly improved. Ten dogs had residual compression, not affecting neurologic long‐term outcome. Only preoperative compression score and neurologic status 3–7 weeks postoperatively were inversely correlated. Lateralization of SCC preoperatively did not affect postsurgical compression scores. Interobserver ICC was 0.848 and intraobserver ICC was 0.984.

Conclusions

VS improves neurologic function but often fails at completely resolving extradural SCC. The proposed CT myelographic score is highly reliable, assuring consistency among and within observers.
Comparison of Clinical and Computed Tomographic Features Between Medial and Lateral Trochlear Ridge Talar Osteochondrosis in Dogs
Authors: Dingemanse Walter B. , Van Bree Henri J. J. , Duchateau Luc , Gielen Ingrid M. V. L.
Published: December 2012

Objective

To evaluate clinical and subchondral bone lesion differences between medial (MTRT‐OC) and lateral trochlear ridge tarsocrural osteochondrosis (LTRT‐OC).

Study Design

Retrospective case series.

Animals

Dogs (n = 66) with MTRT‐OC or LTRT‐OC.

Methods

Medical records(1997–2010) of dogs with MTRT‐OC or LTRT‐OC were reviewed. Clinical data (breed, age, gender, weight, and duration of clinical signs) were retrieved. Computed tomographic examinations of the tarsocrural joints were performed. Length, width, and depth of the subchondral bone lesions on the computed tomographic images, and surface and volume of the lesions were estimated. The location of the OC lesion on the trochlear ridge (proximal, dorsal, or distal) was determined. Data collected from dogs with MTRT‐OC (n = 56) were compared with data from dogs with LTRT‐OC (n = 10).

Results

Length, width, depth, surface, and volume of LTRT‐OC lesions were significantly (P< .01) larger than those of MTRT‐OC lesions. Dogs with LTRT‐OC were significantly younger at the time of diagnosis (P< .01).

Conclusions

OC lesions on the lateral trochlear ridge are significantly larger than those on the medial trochlear ridge. Dogs with lesions on the lateral trochlear ridge are significantly younger at the time of diagnosis, and tend to have a shorter duration of lameness before presentation.
Excision of the Deep Branch of the Lateral Palmar Nerve of Horses to Resolve Lameness Caused by Proximal Suspensory Desmitis
Authors: Guasco Paolo Gay , Kelly Ger , Schumacher James , Henry Robert W.
Published: December 2012

Objective

To assess outcome after neurectomy of the deep branch of the lateral palmar nerve (DBLPaN) as a treatment for horses with persistent lameness associated with chronic proximal suspensory desmitis (PSD) of the thoracic limb.

Study Design

Case series.

Animals

Adult, mixed‐breed horses (n = 4), weighing 510–585 kg, used for amateur show‐jumping.

Methods

Records of 4 horses chronically lame because of PSD of one or both thoracic limbs that were treated by neurectomy of the DBLPaN were reviewed. The site of pain causing lameness was localized using regional anesthesia. The proximal aspect of the suspensory ligament of the affected limb(s) of all horses were enlarged on ultrasonographic examination, but fiber disruption was not observed. All horses remained lame after conservative therapy. Neurectomy was performed with the horses anesthetized and positioned in dorsal recumbency.

Results

All 4 horses were sound at 6 weeks and remained sound for at least 12 months after neurectomy.

Conclusion

Lameness in horses caused by chronic PSD can be resolved by neurectomy of the DBLPaN in horses that are refractory to conservative management.
A Systems Approach to the Policy‐Level Risk Assessment of Exotic Animal Diseases: Network Model and Application to Classical Swine Fever
Authors: Delgado João , Pollard Simon , Snary Emma , Black Edgar , Prpich George , Longhurst Phil
Published: December 2012

Exotic animal diseases (EADs) are characterized by their capacity to spread global distances, causing impacts on animal health and welfare with significant economic consequences. We offer a critique of current import risk analysis approaches employed in the EAD field, focusing on their capacity to assess complex systems at a policy level. To address the shortcomings identified, we propose a novel method providing a systematic analysis of the likelihood of a disease incursion, developed by reference to the multibarrier system employed for the United Kingdom. We apply the network model to a policy‐level risk assessment of classical swine fever (CSF), a notifiable animal disease caused by the CSF virus. In doing so, we document and discuss a sequence of analyses that describe system vulnerabilities and reveal the critical control points (CCPs) for intervention, reducing the likelihood of U.K. pig herds being exposed to the CSF virus.
On Determining the BMD from Multiple Outcomes in Developmental Toxicity Studies when One Outcome is Intentionally Missing
Authors: Najita Julie S. , Catalano Paul J.
Published: December 2012

Public health concerns over the occurrence of developmental abnormalities that can occur as a result of prenatal exposure to drugs, chemicals, and other environmental factors has led to a number of developmental toxicity studies and the use of the benchmark dose (BMD) for risk assessment. To characterize risk from multiple sources, more recent analytic methods involve a joint modeling approach, accounting for multiple dichotomous and continuous outcomes. For some continuous outcomes, evaluating all subjects may not be feasible, and only a subset may be evaluated due to limited resources. The subset can be selected according to a prespecified probability model and the unobserved data can be viewed as intentionally missing in the sense that subset selection results in missingness that is experimentally planned. We describe a subset selection model that allows for sampling pups with malformations and healthy pups at different rates, and includes the well‐known simple random sample (SRS) as a special case. We were interested in understanding how sampling rates that are selected beforehand influence the precision of the BMD. Using simulations we show how improvements over the SRS can be obtained by oversampling malformations, and how some sampling rates can yield precision that is substantially worse than the SRS. We also illustrate the potential for cost saving with oversampling. Simulations are based on a joint mixed effects model, and to account for subset selection, use of case weights to obtain valid dose‐response estimates.
Black Hole of Responsibility: The Adjudication Committee's Role in a Chinese Court
Authors: He Xin
Published: December 2012

How courts and judges in authoritarian regimes decide cases behind closed doors has rarely been studied, but it is critically important in comparative judicial studies. Primarily drawing on the minutes of the adjudication committee in a lower court in China, this article explores its operational patterns and decision-making process. The data suggest that among the criminal cases reviewed by the committee, very few were difficult or significant, but a relatively high percentage of the suggested opinions of the adjudicating judges was modified. In contrast, many civil cases reviewed were difficult to resolve but the committee offered little assistance. Overall the operation and decision-making of the committee were subsumed by the administrative ranking system inside the court and the authority of the court president was enormous. The analysis also demonstrates the limited role of the committee in both promoting legal consistency and resisting external influences. Instead of achieving its declared goals, the committee has degenerated into a device for both individual judges and committee members to shelter responsibility. The findings compel researchers to reevaluate the role of the adjudication committee in Chinese courts, and the relationship between judges and authoritarian regimes.
Replacing and Amending Constitutions: The Logic of Constitutional Change in Latin America
Authors: Negretto Gabriel L.
Published: December 2012

Since 1978, all countries in Latin America have either replaced or amended their constitutions. What explains the choice between these two substantively different means of constitutional transformation? This article argues that constitutions are replaced when they fail to work as governance structures or when their design prevents competing political interests from accommodating to changing environments. According to this perspective, constitutions are likely to be replaced when constitutional crises are frequent, when political actors lack the capacity to implement changes by means of amendments or judicial interpretation, or when the constitutional regime has a power-concentrating design. It is further argued that the frequency of amendments depends both on the length and detail of the constitution and on the interaction between the rigidity of the amendment procedure and the fragmentation of the party system. The article provides statistical evidence to support these arguments and discusses the normative implications of the analysis.
Executive Branch Socialization and Deference on the U.S. Supreme Court
Authors: Robinson Rob
Published: December 2012

Are Supreme Court justices with prior experience in the executive branch more likely to defer to the president in separation of powers cases? While previous research has suggested that such background may signal judicial policy preferences but does not shape them, I argue here that institutional socialization may indeed increase future judicial deference to the president. Using an original data set of executive power cases decided between 1942 and 2007, I model justice-votes to test this hypothesis. I uncover three noteworthy findings: (1) a clear correlation between prior executive branch experience and support for the executive branch, (2) the degree of this support intensifies as executive branch tenure increases, a finding congruent with a socialization hypothesis, and (3) contrary to received wisdom, executive powers cases possess a clear ideological dimension, in line with the expectations of the attitudinal model.
Cross‐Border Consumption of Informal and Underground Goods: A Case Study of Alternative Consumerism in South Texas
Authors: Pisani Michael J.
Published: December 2012

Objective

To explore the determinants of informal consumption of cross‐border goods from the South Texas‐Mexico border. Twelve select informal and underground goods are examined.

Methods

Derived from extensive interviews, a unique (and purposive) data set of 357 consumers from the South Texas borderlands was collected in the summer of 2010.

Results

Nearly two‐thirds (64.6 percent) of borderlands consumers have engaged in, at one time or another, the purchase and consumption of cross‐border informal goods. The rate is 44.1 percent for the consumption of cross‐border underground goods. An important determinant in the cross‐border consumption of informal goods is one's self‐reported morals for buying “off the books.” This relationship is inversely bound. Immigration status, Spanish‐language ability, education, civil status, and residence location all inform participation in the consumption of informal cross‐border goods.

Conclusion

The South Texas‐Mexico border clearly acts as a lever for the cross‐border consumption of informal and underground goods.
Food Safety Practices Assessment Tool: An Innovative Way to Test Food Safety Skills among Individuals with Special Needs
Authors: Carbone Elena T. , Scarpati Stanley E. , Pivarnik Lori F.
Published: December 2012

Abstract:  This article describes an innovative assessment tool designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a food safety skills curriculum for learners receiving special education services. As schools respond to the increased demand for training students with special needs about food safety, the need for effective curricula and tools is also increasing. A Food Safety Education for High School and Transition Special Needs Students curriculum served as the basis upon which our assessment tool was developed. The project was a collaborative effort by food safety and education professionals in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. This USDA‐funded initiative emerged from teacher‐generated data that identified critical gaps in food safety knowledge and skills among students with disabilities (SWD) receiving special education services. As an adjunct to this curriculum, a Food Safety Practices Assessment Tool was developed to: 1) conduct observations of students as they demonstrate food safety practices, and 2) use this information to design classroom‐based learning activities that are aligned with students’ Individual Education Plans (IEP). Pilot data suggest that the tool is valid and reliable for use in a kitchen‐based setting. This is the first known tool of its kind to test food safety skills of individuals with special needs in a real‐world environment. Further testing is needed to determine the usefulness of the tool for broader audiences.
Predicting food‐web structure with metacommunity models
Authors: Baiser Benjamin , Buckley Hannah L. , Gotelli Nicholas J. , Ellison Aaron M.
Published: December 2012

Synthesis

Metacommunity theory aims to elucidate the relative influence of local and regional‐scale processes in generating diversity patterns across the landscape. Metacommunity research has focused largely on assemblages of competing organisms within a single trophic level. Here, we test the ability of metacommunity models to predict the network structure of the aquatic food web found in the leaves of the northern pitcher plantSarracenia purpurea. The species‐sorting and patch‐dynamics models most accurately reproduced nine food web properties, suggesting that local‐scale interactions play an important role in structuring Sarracenia food webs. Our approach can be applied to any well‐resolved food web for which data are available from multiple locations.

The metacommunity framework explores the relative influence of local and regional‐scale processes in generating diversity patterns across the landscape. Metacommunity models and empirical studies have focused mostly on assemblages of competing organisms within a single trophic level. Studies of multi‐trophic metacommunities are predominantly restricted to simplified trophic motifs and rarely consider entire food webs. We tested the ability of the patch‐dynamics, species‐sorting, mass‐effects, and neutral metacommunity models, as well as three hybrid models, to reproduce empirical patterns of food web structure and composition in the complex aquatic food web found in the northern pitcher plantSarracenia purpurea. We used empirical data to determine regional species pools and estimate dispersal probabilities, simulated local food‐web dynamics, dispersed species from regional pools into local food webs at rates based on the assumptions of each metacommunity model, and tested their relative fits to empirical data on food‐web structure. The species‐sorting and patch‐dynamics models most accurately reproduced nine food web properties, suggesting that local‐scale interactions were important in structuringSarraceniafood webs. However, differences in dispersal abilities were also important in models that accurately reproduced empirical food web properties. Although the models were tested using pitcher‐plant food webs, the approach we have developed can be applied to any well‐resolved food web for which data are available from multiple locations.
How to measure top–down vs bottom–up effects: a new population metric and its calibration on Daphnia
Authors: Polishchuk Leonard V. , Vijverberg Jacobus , Voronov Dmitry A. , Mooij Wolf M.
Published: December 2012

Research on the role of top–down (predation) and bottom–up (food) effects in food webs has led to the understanding that the variability of these effects in space and time is a fundamental feature of natural systems. Consequently, our measurement tools must allow us to evaluate the effects from a dynamical perspective. A population‐dynamics approach may be appropriate to the task. More specifically, because food and predators both affect birth rate, birth rate dynamics may be a key to understanding their impact on the population of interest. Based on the Edmondson–Paloheimo model for birth rate, we propose a new population metric to assess the relative strength of top–down vs bottom–up effects. The metric is the ratio of contributions of changes in proportion of adults and fecundity to change in birth rate. Proportion of adults reflects a top–down effect (predators are assumed to be size‐selective), fecundity reflects a bottom–up effect, and birth rate appears as a common currency with which to compare the former and the latter. Using microcosm experiments and computer simulations on the cladoceran Daphnia, we calibrate the metric and show that, in both types of tests, the ratio of contributions is typically 0.5–0.7 under a strong bottom–up effect and 2.0–2.2 under a strong top–down effect. This provides experimental evidence that the ratio of contributions may allow one to distinguish a strong top–down effect from a strong bottom–up effect.
Interspecific facilitation and critical transitions in arid ecosystems
Authors: Verwijmeren Mart , Rietkerk Max , Wassen Martin J. , Smit Christian
Published: December 2012

Climate change and intensified land‐use impose severe stress on arid ecosystems, resulting in relatively rapid degradation which is difficult to reverse. To prevent such critical transitions it is crucial to detect early warning signals. Increased ‘patchiness’– smaller and fewer vegetated patches – is thought to be such a signal, but the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Facilitation between plants is known to be an important mechanism driving the patchiness of the vegetation, but we lack understanding of how interactions between plants change in response to combined effects of drought and consumer pressure – the main stressors in many arid ecosystems. Over the last decade numerous experimental studies have tested how intensity of facilitation between plants changes with increasing stress. The most recent synthesis predicts a decline in facilitation intensity at the severe end of a drought stress gradient. Adding consumer pressure may result in even earlier and faster declines in facilitation intensity. So far, studies on critical transitions and plant–plant interactions have developed separately. The relationship between stress and facilitation intensity has been overlooked in critical transition theory, while facilitation intensity may determine the position of a critical transition threshold. In this study, we incorporate experimental studies on the relation between stress and facilitation intensity into the critical transition framework, to improve our ability to predict critical transitions. Moreover, we propose that a decline in facilitation intensity at the severe end of a stress gradient may occur prior to a critical transition. Inclusion of consumer pressure will speed up this process, leading to earlier and faster degradation. In‐field monitoring of seedling–facilitator associations and declines in facilitator recruitment can indicate declines in facilitation intensity and may thus provide additional early warning signals for imminent critical transitions, besides increased patchiness.
Demographic response of tundra small mammals to a snow fencing experiment
Authors: Bilodeau Frédéric , Reid Donald G. , Gauthier Gilles , Krebs Charles J. , Berteaux Dominique , Kenney Alice J.
Published: December 2012

Snow cover is a key environmental component for tundra wildlife that will be affected by climate change. Change to the snow cover may affect the population dynamics of high‐latitude small mammals, which are active throughout the winter and reproduce under the snow. We experimentally tested the hypotheses that a deeper snow cover would enhance the densities and winter reproductive rates of small mammals, but that predation by mustelids could be higher in areas of increased small mammal density. We enhanced snow cover by setting out snow fences at three sites in the Canadian Arctic (Bylot Island, Nunavut, and Herschel Island and Komakuk Beach, Yukon) over periods ranging from one to four years. Densities of winter nests were higher where snow depth was increased but spring lemming densities did not increase on the experimental areas. Lemmings probably moved from areas of deep snow, their preferred winter habitat, to summer habitat during snow melt once the advantages associated with deep snow were gone. Our treatment had no effect on signs of reproduction in winter nests, proportion of lactating females in spring, or the proportion of juveniles caught in spring, which suggests that deep snow did not enhance reproduction. Results on predation were inconsistent across sites as predation by weasels was higher on the experimental area at one site but lower at two others and was not higher in areas of winter nest aggregations. Although this experiment provided us with several new insights about the impact of snow cover on the population dynamics of tundra small mammals, it also illustrates the challenges and difficulties associated with large‐scale experiments aimed at manipulating a critical climatic factor.