bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Partially Linear Regression Model for Data from an Outcome-Dependent Sampling Design
Authors: Zhou Haibo , You Jinhong , Qin Guoyou , Longnecker Matthew P.
Published: March 2011

The outcome-dependent sampling scheme has been gaining attention in both the statistical literature and applied fields. Epidemiological and environmental researchers have been using it to select the observations for more powerful and cost-effective studies. Motivated by a study of the effect of in utero exposure to poly-chlorinated biphenyls on children’s intelligence quotient at age 7 years, in which the effect of an important confounding variable is non-linear, we consider a semiparametric regression model for data from an outcome-dependent sampling scheme where the relationship between the response and covariates is only partially parameterized. We propose a penalized spline maximum likelihood estimation for inference on both the parametric and the non-parametric components and develop their asymptotic properties. Through simulation studies and an analysis of the intelligence study, we compare the proposed estimator with several competing estimators. Practical considerations of implementing those estimators are discussed.
Estimating the Causal Effect of Low Tidal Volume Ventilation on Survival in Patients with Acute Lung Injury
Authors: Wang Weiwei , Scharfstein Daniel , Wang Chenguang , Daniels Michael , Needham Dale , Brower Roy ,   for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Clinical Network
Published: March 2011

Acute lung injury is a condition that is characterized by acute onset of severe hypoxaemia and bilateral pulmonary infiltrates. Patients typically require mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit. Low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV), which is a time varying dynamic treatment regime, has been recommended as an effective ventilation strategy. This recommendation was based on the results of a randomized clinical trial designed to compare low versus high tidal volume strategies by the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Network. After publication of the trial, some critics focused on the high non-adherence rates in the LTVV arm suggesting that non-adherence occurred because treating physicians felt that deviating from the prescribed regime would improve patients’ outcomes. We seek to address this controversy by estimating the survival distribution in the counterfactual setting where all patients assigned to LTVV followed the regime. Inference is based on a fully Bayesian implementation of Robins’s G-computation formula. In addition to reanalysing data from the original trial, we also apply our methodology to data from a subsequent trial, which implemented the LTVV regime in both of its study arms and also suffered from non-adherence.
A prediction‐residual approach for identifying rare events in periodic time series
Authors: Gong Zhiyun , Kiessler Peter , Lund Robert
Published: March 2011

Many environmental time series have seasonal structures. This article presents an approach to identifying the rare events of such series based on time‐series residuals. The methods justify the application of classical peaks over threshold methods to estimated versions of the one‐step‐ahead prediction errors of the series. Such methods enable the seasonal means, variances and autocorrelations of the series to be taken into account. Even in stationary settings, the proposed strategy is useful as it bypasses the need for blocking runs of extremes. The mathematics are justified via a limit theorem for a periodic autoregressive moving‐average time series. A detailed application to a daily temperature series from Griffin, Georgia, is pursued.
A Practical Framework for the Construction of a Biotracing Model: Application to Salmonella in the Pork Slaughter Chain
Authors: Smid J. H. , Swart A. N. , Havelaar A. H. , Pielaat A.
Published: March 2011

A novel purpose of the use of mathematical models in quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) is to identify the sources of microbial contamination in a food chain (i.e., biotracing). In this article we propose a framework for the construction of a biotracing model, eventually to be used in industrial food production chains where discrete numbers of products are processed that may be contaminated by a multitude of sources. The framework consists of steps in which a Monte Carlo model, simulating sequential events in the chain following a modular process risk modeling (MPRM) approach, is converted to a Bayesian belief network (BBN). The resulting model provides a probabilistic quantification of concentrations of a pathogen throughout a production chain. A BBN allows for updating the parameters of the model based on observational data, and global parameter sensitivity analysis is readily performed in a BBN. Moreover, a BBN enables “backward reasoning” when downstream data are available and is therefore a natural framework for answering biotracing questions. The proposed framework is illustrated with a biotracing model of Salmonella in the pork slaughter chain, based on a recently published Monte Carlo simulation model. This model, implemented as a BBN, describes the dynamics of Salmonella in a Dutch slaughterhouse and enables finding the source of contamination of specific carcasses at the end of the chain.
Patterns and Trends of Forest Loss in the Colombian Guyana
Authors: Rodríguez Nelly , Armenteras Dolors , Molowny‐Horas Roberto , Retana Javier
Published: March 2011

Spatial patterns of tropical deforestation and fragmentation are conditional upon human settlement characteristics. We analyze four different human occupation models (indigenous, colonist frontier, transition and established settlement) in the Colombian Guyana Shield at three different times: 1985, 1992 and 2002, and compared them for: (1) deforestation rates; (2) the amount of forest as classified according to a fragmentation pattern (interior forest, edge forest, perforated forest and forest patch); (3) various fragmentation metrics using repeated measures analysis of variance; and (4) potential future deforestation trends though the implementation of a spatially explicit simulation model. The indigenous and colonist frontier occupation models had low rates of deforestation (0.04%/yr), while the well‐established settlement occupation model had the highest rate (3.68%/yr). Our results indicate that the four occupation models generate three deforestation patterns: diffuse, which can be subdivided into two subpatterns (indigenous and colonist), geometric (transition) and patchy (established settlement). The area with the established settlement model was highly fragmented, while in the transition occupation area, forest loss was gradual and linked to economic activities associated with the expansion of the agricultural frontier. The simulation of future trends revealed that indigenous and colonist areas had a constant, albeit small, loss of forest covers. The other models had a deforestation probability of 0.8 or more. Overall, our results highlight the need for new and urgent policies for reducing forest conversion that consider intraregional variability in human occupation linked to differences in land‐use patterns.

Abstract in Spanish is available in the online version of this article.
SEROTYPE DISTRIBUTION OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES ISOLATED FROM TURKEY MEAT BY MULTIPLEX PCR IN TURKEY
Authors: EROL I. , AYAZ N.D.
Published: March 2011

The objectives of this study were to identify the serotypes of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from packaged fresh turkey meat samples marketed in Ankara, Turkey, and to determine the seasonal distribution of the serotypes. Out of 37 L. monocytogenes isolates obtained from 180 turkey meat samples, 19 (51.4%), 10 (27.0%) and 8 (21.6%) were serotyped by multiplex polymerase chain reaction as 4b (or 4d, 4e), 1/2a (or 3a) and 1/2b (or 3b), respectively. Serotypes 1/2a and 4b were dominant in turkey meat samples collected in the summer, and 4b was the most prevalent L. monocytogenes serotype during the winter. Serotype 4b was the most prevalent serotype in turkey meat cuts and legs, whereas 1/2b was the dominant serotype in turkey breast samples. Turkey meat can be a potential risk for public health; therefore, it should be produced under appropriate hygienic and technological conditions and cooked adequately before consumption.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Serotyping has been widely used to characterize L. monocytogenes isolates and is important from the epidemiological point of view. Serotypes 1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c and 4b are the predominant (>95%) serotypes isolated from food samples and human listeriosis cases among 13 L. monocytogenes serotypes. Conventional agglutination and pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis methods have been routinely used for serotyping and characterizing L. monocytogenes but these techniques are today expensive and time consuming. In the present study, rapid and practical multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay was used to differentiate the major L. monocytogenes serotypes (1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c and 4b) in turkey meat.
EFFECT OF SODIUM ACETATE AND NISIN ON MICROBIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES OF CULTURED GRASS CARP (CTENOPHARYNGODON IDELLA) DURING REFRIGERATED STORAGE
Authors: GHOMI MOHAMMAD REZA , NIKOO MEHDI , HESHMATIPOUR ZOHEIR , JANNATI AMENEH AMIR , OVISSIPOUR MAHMUDREZA , BENJAKUL SOOTTAWAT , HASHEMI MASOOD , LANGROUDI HAMID FAGHANI , HASANDOOST MEHDI , JADIDDOKHANI DANIAL
Published: March 2011

Microbiological quality, lipid oxidation and fatty acid composition of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella slices dipped in sodium acetate (0, 1 and 3%), nisin (0, 0.1 and 0.2%) or their combination during refrigerated storage of 8 days were monitored. Both nisin and sodium acetate inhibited the proliferation of total mesophile and lactic acid bacteria in dose dependent manner, but the combination treatments exhibited the higher efficacy in retardation of microbial growth. Higher concentrations of sodium acetate (3%) were more effective in preventing lipid oxidation. By the end of the storage period, higher n3 fatty acids, EPA (C20:5n‐3) and DHA (C22:6n‐3) content and lower n6/n3 ratio were found in the samples treated with 3% sodium acetate + 0.1 and 0.2% nisin. Nisin in combination with sodium acetate can therefore be used as the effective preservatives to maintain the quality of slices during refrigerated storage.

PRACTICAL APLICATIONS

Antimicrobial agents such as sodium acetate and nisin are found to be effective in preventing microbial growth and improving quality of food under storage condition. Treatment of slices using 3% sodium acetate in combination with 0.2% nisin was recommended as the best condition for maintaining the quality of grass carp slices stored under the refrigerated condition.
ANTIBACTERIAL ACTION OF ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES AGAINST FOODBORNE PATHOGENS
Authors: TAYEL AHMED A. , EL‐TRAS WAEL F. , MOUSSA SHAABAN , EL‐BAZ ASHRAF F. , MAHROUS HODA , SALEM MOHAMMED F. , BRIMER LEON
Published: March 2011

The current spreading of nanomaterial applications supports the search for further possible functions of theses diminutive particles. The antibacterial potentiality of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs), compared with conventional ZnO powder, against nine bacterial strains, mostly foodborne including pathogens, was evaluated using qualitative and quantitative assays. ZnO NP was more efficient as antibacterial agent than powder. Gram‐positive bacteria were generally more sensitive to ZnO than Gram negatives. The exposure of Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus to their relevant minimal inhibitory concentrations from ZnO NP reduced the cell number to zero within 8 and 4 h, respectively. Scanning electron micrographs of the treated bacteria with NPs exhibited that the disruptive effect of ZnO on S. aureus was vigorous as all treated cells were completely exploded or lysed after only 4 h from exposure. Promising results of ZnO NP antibacterial activity suggest its usage in food systems as preservative agent after further required investigations and risk assessments.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Foodborne pathogen invasion is still a recurrent serious problem facing researchers and food industry overseers. The introduction of novel powerful antimicrobial agents is of great importance for the control of pathogenic bacteria, especially antibiotic‐resistant strains. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle (NP) could be one of these potential alternatives. This study focused on ZnO NP because of its increasing presence in many marketable products and that supports its application in food industries as a reasonably safe agent. The demonstrated antibacterial activity of ZnO NP recommends its possible application in the food preservation field; otherwise it can be applied as a potent sanitizing agent for disinfecting and sterilizing food industry equipment and containers against the attack and contamination with foodborne pathogenic bacteria.
POTENTIAL USE OF OXYGEN ELECTRODE FOR RAPID DETERMINATION OF BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION IN FOODS
Authors: NUMTHUAM SONTHAYA , SUTHILUK PHUNSIRI , SATAKE TAKAAKI
Published: March 2011

The use of dissolved oxygen (DO) electrode to determine the total number of bacterial contamination in foods was investigated. The DO in food extract solution was measured as the electrical current continuously for 2 h at 30C. The rate of current decrease serves as a potential index for the prediction of bacterial contamination. The additional culture media is necessary for an effective determination of bacteria in shredded cabbage, cooked rice and instant cream sauce samples. The high prediction accuracies (r ≥ 0.90) were achieved for all sample types when the analysis period was 2 h. The measurement of DO using oxygen electrode provides a rapid and convenient method for the determination of bacteria in foods.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

In comparison with the traditional microbiological method, the present research could provide more rapid and simple measuring method to improve the existing security level in food process. In order to support the food industry and market needs, the development of the measuring method to be more simple, portable and inexpensive method was considered. The results obtained from this study were considered to be important basic information for the application to the sophisticated technique as the micro total analysis system or the lab‐on‐chip. Therefore, in further study, the micro‐electro‐mechanical system that facilitates accurate and economic analysis of a sample to be tested for practical use in the real market will be developed. We think that the microchip‐type oxygen sensor developed will become a powerful tool for the determination of total aerobic bacterial contamination in food industries as a rapid, simple and inexpensive measuring method.
ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE AND ESBL PREVALENCE IN ESCHERICHIA COLI FROM RETAIL MEATS
Authors: ARSLAN SEZA , EYI AYLA
Published: March 2011

In the study, Escherichia coli isolates were recovered from 72 (42.9%) of the 168 retail meat samples. Overall, 48 (66.7%) of the poultry meat, 13 (18.1%) of the ground beef and 11 (15.3%) of the meat samples were positive for E. coli. All E. coli isolates using the disk diffusion method were tested for their resistance patterns toward 16 commonly used antimicrobial agents. In general, the most frequently encountered form of resistance in all samples was resistance to erythromycin (91.7%), tetracycline (55.6%), ampicillin (50%), sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim (45.8%) and piperacillin (41.7%). None of the isolates had resistance to six antimicrobials tested. A total of 94.4% of the isolates were resistant to one or more antimicrobial agents, and multiple resistance to three or more antimicrobial drugs was 56.9%. Extended‐spectrum beta‐lactamases production in meat isolates was also found in 13.9% of E. coli isolates by the phenotypic confirmatory test and in 11.1% of E. coli isolates by the double disk synergy test.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Foodborne diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and food safety is an increasingly notable public health issue. The contamination of foods with Escherichia coli may occur in a variety of ways including production, processing, distribution, retail marketing and handling or preparation. Moreover, the increased use of antimicrobial agents in food animal production and human medicine is a significant factor in the emergence of antibiotic‐resistant bacteria. Contamination of food with these bacteria is a threat to public health. This study shows the presence of resistant E. coli in retail meats, and the single and multiple antimicrobial resistance of the strains isolated. It is important because the emergence and development of antimicrobial‐resistant E. coli, as in other bacteria, may be a major public health problem. Recently, extended‐spectrum beta‐lactamase (ESBL) producers pose the challenges to clinical microbiologists, clinicians, antibacterial discoverers, veterinarians and food producers. It may be necessary to monitor the rates of ESBL in food‐related bacteria.
Toward a Bottom‐Up Approach to Assessing Sovereign Default Risk
Authors: Altman Edward I. , Rijken Herbert A.
Published: March 2011

The authors propose a new approach to assessing sovereign risk that focuses on the underlying profitability and financial condition of a nations private corporate sector. More specifically, the authors show how their new Z‐Metrics™ approach—an updated and expanded version of the Alt‐man Z‐score methodology—can be used to measure the (cumulative) median probability of default of the non‐financial sector for the next five years, both as an absolute measure of corporate vulnerability and a relative measure that can be compared to the risk of other sovereigns and to the market's assessment as reflected in the prices of credit default swaps.

In testing their approach, the authors measure the default probabilities of listed corporate entities in nine European countries, as well as the U.S., at two different points in time: the start of 2009 (and thus prior to the recognition of the Euro crisis by markets and most credit professionals) and for the first four months in 2010 (essentially, the beginning of the recognition of the crisis). Based on these two observations, the authors suggest that their corporate health index of the private sector would not only have served as an effective early warning indicator, but provided a (mostly) useful hierarchy of relative sovereign risks. In addition to predicting sovereign default risk, another potentially valuable use of the authors' model is to remind policy makers of the importance of a profitable private sector to the financial health of sovereign governments.
Corporate Portfolio Management: Theory and Practice
Authors: Pidun Ulrich , Rubner Harald , Krühler Matthias , Untiedt Robert ,   The Boston Consulting Group, Nippa Michael
Published: March 2011

Forty years after the introduction of the BCG growth‐share matrix, some version of corporate portfolio management (CPM) is employed by most large multibusiness companies. But little is known about the current practices of CPM. Which processes have companies adopted, and which executives in a company tend to be the main participants? What are the major corporate uses of CPM? And how satisfied are today's companies with their approaches?

To answer these questions, The Boston Consulting Group, in collaboration with Freiberg University in Germany, conducted a comprehensive global survey on the practices of corporate portfolio management that involved more than 200 senior executives at the largest companies worldwide. These survey responses were supplemented by interviews with 50 senior executives of global multibusiness companies as well as a systematic review of more than 100 major client projects that BCG conducted between 2004 and 2009.

One major focus of the survey was the concept of “parenting advantage.” Defined in terms of a particular company being the best possible owner of a particular business, the concept offers a clear framework for identifying the four most important ways in which management can use the principles and methods of CPM to create value for its businesses:

Influencing strategy and improving performance through its distinctive capabilities and resources, including periodic evaluations of performance.

Identifying and increasing synergies.

Providing centralized functional leadership and cost‐efficient services.

Monitoring and, when necessary, changing the composition of the portfolio of businesses.

While fostering synergies and realizing advantage through centralization of functions and services were considered relevant by about half of the companies responding to the survey, the most important drivers of corporate value added by CPM were said to be the direct influence of the parents expertise and active portfolio monitoring. But even so, only 40% of recent divestiture decisions and 23% of recent acquisitions were said to be triggered by portfolio considerations, suggesting a significant gap between the effort put into CPM processes and their role in corporate‐level decision‐making.
Deleveraging Corporate America: Job and Business Recovery Through Debt Restructuring
Authors: Yago Glenn , Li Tong
Published: March 2011

When the Great Recession roiled capital and labor markets in early 2009, up to a third of U.S. public corporations, and nearly 60% of privately owned companies, reported high levels of financial distress resulting from frozen credit markets. And the problems of “debt overhang” and corporate underinvestment were clearly in evidence as the combination of default risk and a relatively new provision of the tax code restricted the ability of distressed companies to deleverage their capital structures.

But as described in this article, at least 110 U.S. companies used a little known provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to defer taxes on the cancellation of debt income (CODI) resulting from exchanges or repurchases of significant amounts of debt. This suspension of tax policy gave many distressed U.S. companies the flexibility to cut costs, shore up balance sheets, and boost liquidity, thereby keeping themselves in business and their workers employed throughout the economic crisis. The 110 companies examined either repurchased or exchanged a total of $32.5 billion of corporate debt. The deleveraging of these companies, which represented more than $2.2 trillion in total assets and $520 billion in market capitalization, helped them to remain solvent throughout the downturn and retain their collective 2.2 million employees. The resulting tax savings are estimated to have saved (or in some cases created) almost 90,000 jobs, while contributing $3.2 billion to total corporate earnings and $10.7 billion of output to the national gross domestic product. Although this approach could be criticized as adding to the federal budget deficit, the deferral of taxes on CODI is viewed as a targeted financial policy tool aimed directly at boosting the productive capacity and employment of corporate enterprises.
Law and Executive Compensation: A Cross‐Country Study
Authors: Bryan Stephen , Nash Robert , Patel Ajay
Published: March 2011

Companies outside the U.S. use substantially less equity in their compensation mix than U.S. firms. But despite this consistent “cross‐sectional” difference, the pattern of changes in equity‐based pay of non‐U.S. companies over time appears to mirror changes in the pay of U.S. companies.

The authors provide persuasive evidence that features of a nation's legal environment help explain major differences in compensation structure across countries. As a general rule, companies in countries that provide greater protection of shareholder rights use larger amounts of equity‐based compensation. And the equity mix also tends to be higher when a country's legal system ensures strict enforcement of the laws that are on the books.

At the same time, since the equity mix varies considerably over time within the same legal environment, it is clear that factors other than the legal environment affect compensation structure. The authors report that, after controlling for legal factors, company‐specific variables that proxy for “agency” conflicts—not only between managers and shareholders, but between controlling and minority shareholders as well—also affect the compensation mix in fairly predictable ways.

The bottom line of this study is that, although we may have a global market for talent, compensation structures across countries are not likely to converge unless and until the underlying legal protections afforded shareholders converge. At the same time, the effect of agency costs in compensation design for non‐U.S. firms appears to be partly conditioned by the nation's legal system and the entire set of regulatory and other institutions that are affected by it.
SYNTHESIS Expansion: Design of a Nonprofit, Pragmatic, Randomized, Controlled Trial on the Best Fast-Track Endovascular Treatment Vs. Standard Intravenous Alteplase for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Ciccone Alfonso , Valvassori Luca , Nichelatti Michele ,   on behalf of the SYNTHESIS Expansion investigators
Published: March 2011

Rationale

Reperfusion in ischemic stroke can be pursued by either systemic intravenous thrombolysis or endovascular treatment. However, systemic intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase within 4·5 h of symptom onset in selected patients is the only medication of proven efficacy. No randomized-controlled trials have so far compared the two modalities. To explore this, after a pilot phase, we started the SYNTHESIS Expansion trial.

Aims

To determine whether endovascular treatment (i.e., intra-arterial thrombolysis with alteplase – if necessary, associated to or substituted by mechanical clot disruption and/or retrieval) compared with systemic intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase, administered according to European labelling, increases the proportion of independent survivors at three-months.

Design

SYNTHESIS Expansion is an open-label, multicenter randomized-controlled trial, with blinded follow-up. Eligibility applies to; patients with symptomatic ischemic stroke, seen within 4·5 h of onset; being able to initiate intravenous alteplase immediately, and endovascular treatment as soon as possible (not later than six-hours of stroke onset). The study is pragmatically based on the ‘uncertainty principle’ between endovascular treatment and systemic intravenous thrombolysis for patients eligible for intravenous alteplase. There are no prespecified clinical or instrumental criteria to further select a patient, although investigators are left free to use them. Enrollment will be completed with 350 randomized patients. Primary analysis is on an intent-to-treat basis.

Study outcomes

Primary: modified Rankin scale score of 0 or 1 at three-months. Secondary: neurological deficit seven-days after thrombolysis and the safety of the procedure on the basis of events reported within seven-days following thrombolysis – symptomatic cerebral hemorrhage, fatal and nonfatal stroke, death from any cause, neurological deterioration.
Bioinformatic analysis and annotation of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) generated from Anopheles sinensis mosquitoes challenged with apoptosis‐inducing chemical, actinomycin‐D
Authors: JO Yong Hun , LEE Yong Seok , KANG Se Won , KHO Weon‐Gyu , PARK Hong Seog , CHOI Sang Haeng , KIM Yu Jung , HONG Young Seok , NOH Mi Young , OH Seung Han , KIM Iksoo , HAN Yeon Soo
Published: March 2011

In 1993, after 10 years of absence, malaria re‐emerged in the Republic of Korea in Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Anopheline mosquitoes are known to play a critical role in malaria transmission. Several studies have used gene expression data to examine the transcription responses of Anopheles gambiae after microbial and Plasmodium infections; however, as of now, there have been no reports of studies concerning the innate immune response and apoptosis in Anopheles sinensis. We have constructed two independent cDNA libraries from An. sinensis challenged with actinomycin‐D (T, treated with apoptosis‐inducing chemical) and without actinomycin‐D (C, control). Analysis of the 5704 (C, 2848; T, 2856) expression sequence tags (ESTs) generated from these libraries identified 884 contigs (C, 421; T, 463) and 2180 singletons (C, 1038; T, 1142) with average lengths of 831 and 817 bp, respectively. Furthermore, comparison of our EST sequences against the eukaryotic orthologous group database showed that 4324 (75.82%) of 5704 sequences could be grouped into three major functional categories. These EST data provide the basis for further studies characterizing the molecular mechanisms of midgut apoptosis.
Overview of methods in economic analyses of behavioral interventions to promote oral health
Authors: O'Connell Joan M. , Griffin Susan
Published: March 2011

Background:Broad adoption of interventions that prove effective in randomized clinical trials or comparative effectiveness research may depend to a great extent on their costs and cost‐effectiveness (CE). Many studies of behavioral health interventions for oral health promotion and disease prevention lack robust economic assessments of costs and CE.

Objective:To describe methodologies employed to assess intervention costs, potential savings, net costs, CE, and the financial sustainability of behavioral health interventions to promote oral health.

Methods:We provide an overview of terminology and strategies for conducting economic evaluations of behavioral interventions to improve oral health based on the recommendations of the Panel of Cost‐Effectiveness in Health and Medicine. To illustrate these approaches, we summarize methodologies and findings from a limited number of published studies. The strategies include methods for assessing intervention costs, potential savings, net costs, CE, and financial sustainability from various perspectives (e.g., health‐care provider, health system, health payer, employer, society). Statistical methods for estimating short‐term and long‐term economic outcomes and for examining the sensitivity of economic outcomes to cost parameters are described.

Discussion:Through the use of established protocols for evaluating costs and savings, it is possible to assess and compare intervention costs, net costs, CE, and financial sustainability. The addition of economic outcomes to outcomes reflecting effectiveness, appropriateness, acceptability, and organizational sustainability strengthens evaluations of oral health interventions and increases the potential that those found to be successful in research settings will be disseminated more broadly.
Valid publication of the name Callicarpa peichieniana (Lamiaceae)
Authors: Ma Hong , Jiang Nan , Yu Wen‐Bin , Li Zheng‐Hong
Published: March 2011

‘Callicarpa peichieniana W. Y. Chun & S. L. Chen ex W. Z. Fang’ is a replacement name for Premna peii W. Y. Chun ex H. T. Chang. However, this replacement name was not validly published in 1982 by W. Z. Fang because the reference citation of the replaced synonym P. peii that was published in 1960 was contrary to Article 33.4 of ICBN. The first publication of Premna peii in 1960 was invalid due to lack of type indication, in conflict with Article 37.1, and it was subsequently validated in 1963. In this study, we correct the place of valid publication of P. peii, thereby validating C. peichieniana W. Y. Chun & S. L. Chen ex H. Ma & W. B. Yu.
Infrastructures of Consent: Interrogating Citizen Participation Mandates in Indian Urban Governance
Authors: Coelho Karen , Kamath Lalitha , Vijaybaskar M.
Published: March 2011

How does the state ‘perform’ people's participation and public consultation exercises in a context where it is increasingly forced to rely on private capital to build infrastructure? How do these new forms of participation and consultation articulate with existing institutions of people's representation? Are the new mandates for citizen participation and public consultation that are written into the reform agenda driving a further wedge into the already fractured citizenship that characterizes the Indian urban polity? These are the questions posed by this paper.

While ‘participatory development’ itself has come under critique since the late 1990s for its demonstrated effects of disenfranchising marginalised groups, manufacturing consensus for plans already made, and/or closing off alternative pathways for transformation, this paper argues that contemporary practices of public consultation and citizen participation have moved out of the ambit of such critiques. No longer do they contain more than tokenistic gestures toward broad inclusion or people's empowerment. Instead, the imperatives of ‘fast‐tracking’ India's cities into a post‐Third World regime of ‘global cities’, have given new shape and meaning to contemporary practices of participation and consultation. The paper explores notions of participation as located in 'second generation’ or institutional reforms, particularly as articulated by prominent state‐sponsored public‐private partnerships such as the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) and the Tamilnadu Urban Development Fund (TNUDF). These ‘model’ partnerships provided key programmatic elements that became the basis of national reform programs, notably the Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The paper also discusses the emerging character of collective action in Indian cities in terms of its implications for the unfolding of governance reform measures such as the JNNURM's Community Participation Law.
Modularity lifting theorems for Galois representations of unitary type
Authors: Guerberoff Lucio
Published: March 2011

We prove modularity lifting theorems for ℓ-adic Galois representations of any dimension satisfying a unitary type condition and a Fontaine–Laffaille condition at ℓ. This extends the results of Clozel, Harris and Taylor, and the subsequent work by Taylor. The proof uses the Taylor–Wiles method, as improved by Diamond, Fujiwara, Kisin and Taylor, applied to Hecke algebras of unitary groups, and results of Labesse on stable base change and descent from unitary groups to GLn.
Synthesis and Tribological Properties of S- and P-Free Borate Esters With Different Chain Lengths
Authors: Yang Guangbin , Zhang Zhanming , Li Guihui , Zhang Jinfeng , Yu Laigui , Zhang Pingyu
Published: March 2011

Three kinds of S- and P-free borate esters containing N with different alkyl chain lengths were prepared by using boric acid, ethanolamine, and alkyl-alcohol as the starting materials. The chemical structure of the products was analyzed by means of Fourier transformation infrared spectrometry, elemental analysis, and so on. The thermal stability of the products was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis. The tribological properties of the synthesized borate esters as lubricating oil additives in liquid paraffin were evaluated using a four-ball friction and wear tester while the morphologies of the worn scars of the steel balls were observed using a scanning electron microscope. The chemical components on the worn surfaces of the steel balls were analyzed using an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results show that all the three kinds of synthetic borate esters as additives in liquid paraffin possess good antiwear performance and may be used as promising S- and P-free environmentally acceptable lubricating oil additives. Particularly, borate ester with short alkyl chain length at a low concentration in liquid paraffin was more effective in reducing wear, and the antiwear ability of the additives decreased with increasing alkyl chain length. The antiwear ability of the N-containing borate esters as additives in liquid paraffin might be closely related to the formation of hydrogen bonds via N with a high electronegativity and small atomic radius and the easy permeation of electron-deficient B on the rubbing steel surfaces.
Epitaxial growth of CoxMnySiz (111) thin films in the compositional range around the Heusler alloy Co2MnSi
Authors: He Liang , Collins Brian A. , Tsui Frank , Chu Yong S.
Published: March 2011

Epitaxial growth and structural properties of CoxMnySiz thin films on Ge (111) substrates, including the Heusler alloy Co2MnSi (111), have been studied using combinatorial molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) techniques. In situ reflection high energy electron diffraction and ex situ x-ray diffraction experiments show that high quality coherent MBE growth with fcc (111) stacking can be achieved over a relatively large composition space that includes Co2MnSi. The highest structural and chemical ordering is observed near the composition of Co0.63Mn0.14Si0.23 rather than that at the Heusler stoichiometry of Co2MnSi. The in-plane crystallographic axis of the fcc film exhibits a 60° rotation with respect to that of the Ge substrate. The rotation appears to be originated at the film-substrate interface, as a result of the symmetry and stacking of the Ge (111) surface reconstruction.
Interaction of Iron Tetrasulfophthalocyanine with TiO2 Nanoparticles by XPS
Authors: Delichere P. , Daniele S. , Hubert-Pfalzgraf L. G. , Sorokin A. B.
Published: March 2011

Mesoporous iron tetrasulfophthalocyanine/TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by a one-pot hydrolytic process starting from modified titanium alkoxide. The material has been characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffraction powder (XDR), transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), nitrogen absorption-desorption isotherm (BET), diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectrocopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It contains anatase as the main crystalline phase (85%) along with brookite. Average crystallites size gave around 10 and 12 nm, for anatase and brookite, respectively. Diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy confirmed the presence of intact iron tetrasulfophtahlocyanine (FePcS), predominantly in dimeric form. The chemical interaction of the FePcS with the TiO2 nanoparticles was studied by using FTIR and XPS techniques which indicated that FePcS is covalently bonded onto TiO2 nanoparticles, leading to a stable hybrid system. Careful attention to binding energies of O 1s and S 2p elements in the nanohybrid material and in FePcS complex helps to shed light on this point.
Pressure distributions in a static physical model of the uniform glottis: Entrance and exit coefficients
Authors: Fulcher Lewis P. , Scherer Ronald C. , Powell Travis
Published: March 2011

Pressure distributions for the uniform glottis were obtained with a static physical model (M5). Glottal diameters of d = 0.005, 0.0075, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.08, 0.16, and 0.32 cm were used with a range of phonatory transglottal pressures. At each pressure and diameter, entrance loss and exit coefficients were determined. In general, both coefficients decreased in value as the transglottal pressure or the diameter increased. Entrance loss coefficients ranged from 0.69 to 17.6. Use of these coefficients with the measured flow rates in straightforward equations accurately reproduced the pressure distributions within the glottis and along the inferior vocal fold surface.
Sound reproduction systems using variable-directivity loudspeakers
Authors: Poletti M. A. , Fazi F. M. , Nelson P. A.
Published: March 2011

Sound reproduction systems using omnidirectional loudspeakers produce reflections from room surfaces which interfere with the desired sound field within the array. While active compensation systems can reduce the reverberant level, they require calibration in each room and are processor-intensive. Directional loudspeakers allow the direct to reverberant level to be improved within the array, but still produce a finite exterior field which reflects from the room surfaces. The use of variable-directivity loudspeakers allows the exterior field to be eliminated at low frequencies by implementing the Kirchhoff–Helmholtz integral equation. This paper investigates the performance of variable-directivity arrays in reducing reverberant levels and compares the results with those derived in a previous paper for fixed-directivity arrays. The results presented may have some impact on the design of commercial multi-channel systems for sound reproduction.
Rhythm analysis of orthogonal signals from human walking
Authors: Ekimov Alexander , Sabatier James M.
Published: March 2011

In physical terms, periodic movements of a human body resulting from walking produce a pulse sequence with repetition time T1 (instant cadence frequency, 1/T1) and duration time T2. Footstep forces generate periodic T1 broadband seismic and sound signals due to the dynamic forces between the foot and the ground/floor with duration time T2, which is equal to the time interval for a single footstep from heel strike to toe slap and weight transfer. In a human gait study (for normal speeds of walking), T1 was detected as 0.5–0.69 s and double limb support takes up about 12% of the gait cycle (2T1), so T2 is greater than 0.12–0.17 s. Short range (of about 50 m) signatures for 30 humans were recorded simultaneously by four orthogonal sensor types at two locations. The sensor types were active Doppler sonar/radar and passive seismic/acoustics. Analysis of signals from these four sensors collected for walking humans showed temporal synchronization and stability of the cadence frequencies, and the cadence frequency from each sensor was equivalent. The time delay between signals from these sensors due to the differences in speeds of propagation for seismic, sound, and electromagnetic waves allows calculation of the distance from a walker to the sensor suite.
Spatial release from masking in normally hearing and hearing-impaired listeners as a function of the temporal overlap of competing talkers
Authors: Best Virginia , Mason Christine R. , Kidd Gerald
Published: March 2011

Listeners with sensorineural hearing loss are poorer than listeners with normal hearing at understanding one talker in the presence of another. This deficit is more pronounced when competing talkers are spatially separated, implying a reduced “spatial benefit” in hearing-impaired listeners. This study tested the hypothesis that this deficit is due to increased masking specifically during the simultaneous portions of competing speech signals. Monosyllabic words were compressed to a uniform duration and concatenated to create target and masker sentences with three levels of temporal overlap: 0% (non-overlapping in time), 50% (partially overlapping), or 100% (completely overlapping). Listeners with hearing loss performed particularly poorly in the 100% overlap condition, consistent with the idea that simultaneous speech sounds are most problematic for these listeners. However, spatial release from masking was reduced in all overlap conditions, suggesting that increased masking during periods of temporal overlap is only one factor limiting spatial unmasking in hearing-impaired listeners.
A contrast source method for nonlinear acoustic wave fields in media with spatially inhomogeneous attenuation
Authors: Demi L. , Dongen K. W. A. van , Verweij M. D.
Published: March 2011

Experimental data reveals that attenuation is an important phenomenon in medical ultrasound. Attenuation is particularly important for medical applications based on nonlinear acoustics, since higher harmonics experience higher attenuation than the fundamental. Here, a method is presented to accurately solve the wave equation for nonlinear acoustic media with spatially inhomogeneous attenuation. Losses are modeled by a spatially dependent compliance relaxation function, which is included in the Westervelt equation. Introduction of absorption in the form of a causal relaxation function automatically results in the appearance of dispersion. The appearance of inhomogeneities implies the presence of a spatially inhomogeneous contrast source in the presented full-wave method leading to inclusion of forward and backward scattering. The contrast source problem is solved iteratively using a Neumann scheme, similar to the iterative nonlinear contrast source (INCS) method. The presented method is directionally independent and capable of dealing with weakly to moderately nonlinear, large scale, three-dimensional wave fields occurring in diagnostic ultrasound. Convergence of the method has been investigated and results for homogeneous, lossy, linear media show full agreement with the exact results. Moreover, the performance of the method is demonstrated through simulations involving steered and unsteered beams in nonlinear media with spatially homogeneous and inhomogeneous attenuation.
A model for the prediction of breathiness in vowels
Authors: Shrivastav Rahul , Camacho Arturo , Patel Sona , Eddins David A.
Published: March 2011

The perception of breathiness in vowels is cued by multiple acoustic cues, including changes in aspiration noise (AH) and the open quotient (OQ) [Klatt and Klatt, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 87(2), 820–857 (1990)]. A loudness model can be used to determine the extent to which AH masks the harmonic components in voice. The resulting “partial loudness” (PL) and loudness of AH [“noise loudness” (NL)] have been shown to be good predictors of perceived breathiness [Shrivastav and Sapienza, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 114(1), 2217–2224 (2003)]. The levels of AH and OQ were systematically manipulated for ten synthetic vowels. Perceptual judgments of breathiness were obtained and regression functions to predict breathiness from the ratio of NL to PL (η) were derived. Results show that breathiness can be modeled as a power function of η. The power parameter of this function appears to be affected by the fundamental frequency of the vowel. A second experiment was conducted to determine if the resulting power function could estimate breathiness in a different set of voices. The breathiness of these stimuli, both natural and synthetic, was determined in a listening test. The model estimates of breathiness were highly correlated with perceptual data but the absolute predicted values showed some discrepancies.
Putative audio recordings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)
Authors: Collins Michael D.
Published: March 2011

Putative audio recordings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) are presented along with discussions of the videos from which they were extracted and the observations that were made when these data were obtained. On two occasions, high-pitched calls were heard coming from the direction of a bird that was identified in the field as an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. These calls seem to match the description of an alarm call that was reported in the 1930s. One of the videos captured a series of the high-pitched calls, which sound similar to the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) bell call but do not match published sonograms of that call. A putative double knock, which is characteristic of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, was captured in another video a little over a minute before a large bird with characteristics consistent with an Ivory-billed Woodpecker flew into view. Since it is extremely difficult to observe this critically endangered species, information on audio clues could have an impact on its conservation.