bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A phase 2 clinical trial of everolimus plus bicalutamide for castration‐resistant prostate cancer
Authors: Chow Helen , Ghosh Paramita M. , deVere White Ralph , Evans Christopher P. , Dall'Era Marc A. , Yap Stanley A. , Li Yueju , Beckett Laurel A. , Lara Primo N. , Pan Chong‐Xian
Published: March 2016

BACKGROUND

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is up‐regulated in castration‐resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Nevertheless, inhibition of mTOR is ineffective in inducing apoptosis in prostate cancer cells, likely because of the compensatory up‐regulation of the androgen receptor (AR) pathway.

METHODS

Patients who were eligible for this study had to have progressive CRPC with serum testosterone levels <50 ng/dL. No prior bicalutamide (except to prevent flare) or everolimus was allowed. Treatment included oral bicalutamide 50 mg and oral everolimus 10 mg, both once daily, with a cycle defined as 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was the prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) response (≥30% reduction) from baseline. A sample size of 23 patients would have power of 0.8 and an α error of .05 (1‐sided) if the combination had a PSA response rate of 50% versus a historic rate of 25% with bicalutamide alone.

RESULTS

Twenty‐four patients were enrolled. The mean age was 71.1 years (range, 53.0‐87.0 years), the mean PSA level at study entry was 43.4 ng/dL (range, 2.5‐556.9 ng/dL), and the mean length of treatment was 8 cycles (range, 1.0‐23.0 cycles). Of 24 patients, 18 had a PSA response (75%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53‐0.90), whereas 15 (62.5%; 95% CI, 0.41‐0.81) had a PSA decrease ≥50%. The median overall survival was 28 months (95% CI, 14.1‐42.7 months). Fourteen patients (54%; 95% CI, 0.37‐0.78) developed grade 3 (13 patients) or grade 4 (1 patient with sepsis) adverse events that were attributable to treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of bicalutamide and everolimus has encouraging efficacy in men with bicalutamide‐naive CRPC, thus warranting further investigation. A substantial number of patients experienced everolimus‐related toxicity. Cancer 2016;122:1897–904. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Cognitive testing of tobacco use items for administration to patients with cancer and cancer survivors in clinical research
Authors: Land Stephanie R. , Warren Graham W. , Crafts Jennifer L. , Hatsukami Dorothy K. , Ostroff Jamie S. , Willis Gordon B. , Chollette Veronica Y. , Mitchell Sandra A. , Folz Jasmine N. M. , Gulley James L. , Szabo Eva , Brandon Thomas H. , Duffy Sonia A. , Toll Benjamin A.
Published: March 2016

BACKGROUND

To the authors' knowledge, there are currently no standardized measures of tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure in patients diagnosed with cancer, and this gap hinders the conduct of studies examining the impact of tobacco on cancer treatment outcomes. The objective of the current study was to evaluate and refine questionnaire items proposed by an expert task force to assess tobacco use.

METHODS

Trained interviewers conducted cognitive testing with cancer patients aged ≥21 years with a history of tobacco use and a cancer diagnosis of any stage and organ site who were recruited at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Iterative rounds of testing and item modification were conducted to identify and resolve cognitive issues (comprehension, memory retrieval, decision/judgment, and response mapping) and instrument navigation issues until no items warranted further significant modification.

RESULTS

Thirty participants (6 current cigarette smokers, 1 current cigar smoker, and 23 former cigarette smokers) were enrolled from September 2014 to February 2015. The majority of items functioned well. However, qualitative testing identified wording ambiguities related to cancer diagnosis and treatment trajectory, such as “treatment” and “surgery”; difficulties with lifetime recall; errors in estimating quantities; and difficulties with instrument navigation. Revisions to item wording, format, order, response options, and instructions resulted in a questionnaire that demonstrated navigational ease as well as good question comprehension and response accuracy.

CONCLUSIONS

The Cancer Patient Tobacco Use Questionnaire (C‐TUQ) can be used as a standardized item set to accelerate the investigation of tobacco use in the cancer setting. Cancer 2016;122:1728‐34. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Radiation therapy (with or without neck surgery) for phenotypic human papillomavirus–associated oropharyngeal cancer
Authors: Garden Adam S. , Fuller Clifton D. , Rosenthal David I. , William William N. , Gunn Gary B. , Beadle Beth M. , Johnson Faye M. , Morrison William H. , Phan Jack , Frank Steven J. , Kies Merrill S. , Sturgis Erich M.
Published: March 2016

BACKGROUND

Favorable outcomes for human papillomavirus–associated oropharyngeal cancer have led to interest in identifying a subgroup of patients with the lowest risk of disease recurrence after therapy. De‐intensification of therapy for this group may result in survival outcomes that are similar to those associated with current therapy but with less toxicity. To advance this effort, this study analyzed the outcomes of oropharyngeal cancer patients treated with or without systemic therapy.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated between 1985 and 2012. The criteria for inclusion were ≤10 pack‐years of cigarette smoking and stage III/IVA cancer limited to T1‐3, N1‐N2b, and T3N0 disease. A survival analysis was performed with the primary endpoint of progression‐free survival (PFS).

RESULTS

The cohort included 857 patients. Systemic therapy was given to 439 patients (51%). The median survival was 80 months. The 2‐year PFS rate was 91%. When the analysis was limited to 324 patients irradiated without systemic therapy, the 2‐ and 5‐year PFS rates were 90% and 85%, respectively. Furthermore, for these 324 patients, the 5‐year PFS rates for T1, T2, and T3 disease were 90%, 83%, and 70%, respectively. The 5‐year PFS rate for patients treated with systemic therapy for T3 disease was 77% (P = .07).

CONCLUSIONS

According to the low‐risk definition currently established in cooperative trials, the patients had a 2‐year PFS rate approximating 90%. When patients who were treated with radiation alone were evaluated, no compromise was observed in this high rate of PFS, which is higher than the 2‐year PFS thresholds used in current cooperative trials. Cancer 2016;122:1702‐7. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Long‐term follow‐up of patients with acute myeloid leukemia surviving and free of disease recurrence for at least 2 years after autologous stem cell transplantation: A report from the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Authors: Czerw Tomasz , Labopin Myriam , Gorin Norbert‐Claude , Giebel Sebastian , Blaise Didier , Meloni Giovanna , Pigneux Arnaud , Bosi Alberto , Veelken Joan , Ferrara Felicetto , Schaap Nicolaas , Lemoli Roberto M. , Cornelissen Jan J. , Beohou Eric , Nagler Arnon , Mohty Mohamad
Published: March 2016

BACKGROUND

Leukemia recurrence is a major cause of treatment failure after autologous stem cell transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It usually occurs within the first 2 years after transplantation. The goal of the current retrospective study was to assess the follow‐up of and characterize risk factors for outcome among patients who survived free of disease recurrence after this period.

METHODS

The analysis included 3567 adults (median age, 45 years) with AML who underwent autografting during the first (86% of patients) or second (14% of patients) complete remission between 1990 and 2008. The stem cell source was the bone marrow in 32% of patients or the peripheral blood in 68% of patients. The median follow‐up was 6.9 years.

RESULTS

At 5 years and 10 years after transplantation, the probability of leukemia‐free survival was 86% and 76%, respectively; the recurrence incidence was 11% and 16%, respectively; and the nonrecurrence mortality rate was 3% and 8%, respectively. The observed survival was decreased compared with the expected survival of the general European population. In a multivariate analysis, decreased probability of leukemia‐free survival was demonstrated for patients who underwent peripheral blood autologous stem cell transplantation; had French‐American‐British subtypes M0, M6, or M7; and were of an older age. The same factors were found to be associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence. Nonrecurrence mortality was found to be affected by older age.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the current analysis indicate that late recurrences remain a major concern after autologous stem cell transplantation among patients with AML, indicating the need for close monitoring of minimal residual disease and additional leukemic control measures after transplantation.Cancer2016;122:1880–7. ©2016 American Cancer Society.
Hydrologic exchanges and baldcypress water use on deltaic hummocks, Louisiana, USA
Authors: Hsueh Yu‐Hsin , Chambers Jim L. , Krauss Ken W. , Allen Scott T. , Keim Richard F.
Published: March 2016

Coastal forested hummocks support clusters of trees in the saltwater–freshwater transition zone. To examine how hummocks support trees in mesohaline sites that are beyond physiological limits of the trees, we used salinity and stable isotopes (2H and 18O) of water as tracers to understand water fluxes in hummocks and uptake by baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.), which is the most abundant tree species in coastal freshwater forests of the southeastern U.S. Hummocks were always partially submerged and were completely submerged 1 to 8% of the time during the two studied growing seasons, in association with high water in the estuary. Salinity, δ18O, and δ2H varied more in the shallow open water than in groundwater. Surface water and shallow groundwater were similar to throughfall in isotopic composition, which suggested dominance by rainfall. Salinity of groundwater in hummocks increased with depth, was higher than in swales, and fluctuated little over time. Isotopic composition of xylem water in baldcypress was similar to the vadose zone and unlike other measured sources, indicating that trees preferentially use unsaturated hummock tops as refugia from higher salinity and saturated soil in swales and the lower portions of hummocks. Sustained upward gradients of salinity from groundwater to surface water and vadose water, and low variation in groundwater salinity and isotopic composition, suggested long residence time, limited exchange with surface water, and that the shallow subsurface of hummocks is characterized by episodic salinization and slow dilution. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Movement patterns of three arboreal primates in a Neotropical moist forest explained by LiDAR-estimated canopy structure
Authors: McLean Kevin A. , Trainor Anne M. , Asner Gregory P. , Crofoot Margaret C. , Hopkins Mariah E. , Campbell Christina J. , Martin Roberta E. , Knapp David E. , Jansen Patrick A.
Published: March 2016

Context

Many arboreal mammals in Neotropical forests are important seed dispersers that influence the spatial patterns of tree regeneration via their movement patterns, which in turn are determined by the canopy structure of the forest itself. However, the relationship between arboreal mammal movement and canopy structure is poorly understood, due in large part to the complexity of quantifying arboreal habitat structure.

Objectives

We relate detailed movement trajectories of three sympatric primate species to attributes of canopy structure derived from airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) in order to understand the role of structure in arboreal movement in the tropical moist forest of Barro Colorado Island, Panama.

Methods

We used high-resolution LiDAR to quantify three-dimensional attributes of the forest canopy of the entire island, high-resolution GPS tracking to map the movement patterns of the monkey species, and step selection functions to relate movement decisions to canopy attributes.

Results

We found that movement decisions were correlated with canopy height and distance to gaps, which indicate forest maturity and lateral connectivity, in all three species. In the two faster-moving species, step selection was also correlated with the thickness of the crown layer and the density of vegetation within the crown.

Conclusions

The correlations detected are fully in line with known differences in the locomotor adaptations and movement strategies of the study species, and directly reflect maximization of energetic efficiency and ability to escape from predators. Quantification of step selection in relation to structure thus provides insight into the ways in which arboreal animals use their environment.
Retour d'expériences sur l'étude de trois assemblages osseux issus de sépultures collectives néolithiques
Authors: Schmitt A. , Bizot B.
Published: March 2016

La plupart des sépultures collectives du Néolithique final ayant bénéficié de fouilles et d'un enregistrement optimaux ont livré une grande quantité d'ossements. Le croisement des données archéologiques et anthropologiques acquises sur le terrain et en laboratoire permet, en théorie, de restituer les pratiques mortuaires. L'investissement en temps et les compétences requises pour l'étude des assemblages osseux issus des sépultures collectives, notamment en contexte préventif, impose d'aborder la question du bilan des travaux. Cette réflexion se base essentiellement sur trois sépultures collectives. La reconstitution des modes de dépôts initiaux des individus et de manipulation des ossements s'est avérée relativement limitée. Faute de pouvoir quantifier les impacts des facteurs taphonomiques ou de conservation différentielle, variables d'un site à l'autre, il reste difficile de choisir parmi les différentsscenariienvisagés. Alors que les méthodes précises mises en œuvre garantissent une acquisition optimale des données lors de la phase terrain, l'analyse des assemblages osseux demeure une tâche longue et complexe, produisant des résultats de faible portée interprétative. Ainsi, s'il est légitime de nous interroger sur l'adéquation entre les moyens et les résultats obtenus, en l'état actuel de nos ressources méthodologiques, un tel déploiement de moyens constitue encore la principale voie d'approche. Cependant, de meilleurs référentiels ostéologiques et taphonomiques sont nécessaires.
Bile aspiration enhances the diagnostic accuracy of Clonorchis sinensis: A case report
Authors: Lin Te‐Fu , Chan Hoi‐Hung , Hsu Ping‐I , Tsai Tzung‐Jiun , Wang E‐Ming , Lai Kwok‐Hung , Cheng Jin‐Shiung , Wang Huay‐Min
Published: March 2016

Clonorchis sinensis is endemic to Southeast Asia, Japan, China, and Taiwan. Those infected often have a history of consumption of raw fresh fish. Its manifestations can be asymptomatic of cholangitis, biliary stones, or cholangiocarcinoma. A 69‐year‐old male living in Chishan, Taiwan visited our hospital with obstructive jaundice. Noninvasive analyses, such as stool examination, abdominal ultrasound, and an abdominal computed tomography scan did not reveal clues of clonorchiasis. As the obstructive jaundice was unexplained, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was then performed and a hepatic fluke was seen via aspiration of bile. Subsequently, the ova of C. sinensis were detected via microscopic examination of bile samples. Bile aspiration is not routine during an ERCP procedure; however, we suggest the bile aspiration can be diagnostically accurate for clonorchiasis, especially for patients with a suspicious infection.
Efficacy of atorvastatin in prevention of atrial fibrillation after heart valve surgery in the PROFACE trial (PROphylaxis of postoperative atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac surgEry)
Authors: Carrascal Yolanda , Arnold Roman J. , De la Fuente Luis , Revilla Ana , Sevilla Teresa , Arce Nuria , Laguna Gregorio , Pareja Pilar , Blanco Miriam
Published: March 2016

Background

To evaluate the efficacy of perioperative atorvastatin administration for prophylaxis of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after heart valve surgery.

Methods

Our study included 90 patients with heart valve disease who were scheduled to undergo elective cardiac surgery. Cases with previous AF or preoperative beta‐blocker therapy were excluded. Patients were randomized into the atorvastatin group, which included 47 patients who received 40 mg/day of atorvastatin 7 days before and after the surgery and the control group, which included 43 patients. Primary endpoint was the occurrence of POAF. Secondary endpoints included modifications in the preoperative and postoperative levels of the markers of inflammation (C‐reactive protein [CRP]), myocardial injury (ultrasensitive troponin T and creatinine phosphokinase MB [CPK‐MB]), and cardiac dysfunction (pro‐brain natriuretic peptide [proBNP]) related to POAF and changes in the echocardiographic parameters, such as atrial electromechanical interval, A wave, E/A ratio, and Doppler imaging systolic velocity wave amplitude, related to POAF.

Results

No relationship between atorvastatin administration and reduction in the incidence of POAF was observed (42.6% in the atorvastatin vs. 30.2% in the control group) (p=0.226). No difference in the levels of CPK‐MB, ultrasensitive troponin T, CRP, or proBNP and in the analyzed echocardiographic parameter was detected between both groups.

Conclusions

Atorvastatin in the described dose, was not adequate for the prophylaxis of POAF after heart valve surgery. It was ineffective in controlling the inflammatory phenomena, myocardial injury, and echocardiographic predictors of POAF.
FOOD INSECURITY AND PROGRAMS TO ALLEVIATE IT: WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE HAVE YET TO LEARN
Authors: DUFFY PATRICIA A. , ZIZZA CLAIRE A.
Published: March 2016

Fourteen percent of households in the United States faced some level of food insecurity in 2014. This study provides a review of the state of knowledge on food insecurity in the United States and the programs designed to combat the problem. A household decision-making model is used to frame the discussion. The study also provides suggestions for future research.
LINEAR TIME IN HYPERSEQUENT FRAMEWORK
Authors: INDRZEJCZAK ANDRZEJ
Published: March 2016

Hypersequent calculus (HC), developed by A. Avron, is one of the most interesting proof systems suitable for nonclassical logics. Although HC has rather simple form, it increases significantly the expressive power of standard sequent calculi (SC). In particular, HC proved to be very useful in the field of proof theory of various nonclassical logics. It may seem surprising that it was not applied to temporal logics so far. In what follows, we discuss different approaches to formalization of logics of linear frames and provide a cut-free HC formalization ofKt4.3, the minimal temporal logic of linear frames, and some of its extensions. The novelty of our approach is that hypersequents are defined not as finite (multi)sets but as finite lists of ordinary sequents. Such a solution allows both linearity of time flow, and symmetry of past and future, to be incorporated by means of six temporal rules (three for future-necessity and three dual rules for past-necessity). Extensions of the basic calculus with simple structural rules cover logics of serial and dense frames. Completeness is proved by Schütte/Hintikka-style argument using models built from saturated hypersequents.
Emergency point-of-care ultrasound in Canadian pediatric emergency fellowship programs: current integration and future directions
Authors: Hoeffe Julia , Desjardins Marie Pier , Fischer Jason , Carriere Benoit , Gravel Jocelyn
Published: March 2016

Background

Adult and pediatric emergency physicians have been using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for many years. It is a fast, usually painless, noninvasive diagnostic tool that does not expose the patient to radiation. Information about its current implementation in pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) fellowship programs in Canada is lacking.

Objective

The main goal of our study was to investigate current integration and future direction of POCUS training in Canadian PEM programs.

Methods

The study consisted of two surveys designed for fellows and program directors of all Canadian PEM fellowship programs. The major aspects of the survey were 1) to describe current training in POCUS in fellowship programs, 2) to compare the kind of training that programs offer with what fellows actually receive, and 3) a needs assessment by fellows and program directors for future POCUS training programs. Surveys were sent to program directors and passed on to their fellows.

Results

Ninety percent of fellowship program directors as well as 70% (42/60) of fellows responded to the survey. A formal POCUS curriculum exists in five of the nine PEM programs included in this study. Three programs offer specific pediatric POCUS training. The main application is the FAST (focused assessment with sonography for trauma) exam.

Conclusion

There is a wide variation in POCUS content and delivery across PEM fellowship programs, as well as differences in perceptions of current training and of needs by fellows and program directors. However, given that both groups feel POCUS is very important and essential for PEM training, the opportunity exists to develop a standardized curriculum across Canada.
Emergency Department Management of Heart Failure and COPD: A National Survey of Attitudes and Practice
Authors: Hale Michael K.P. , Stiell Ian G. , Clement Catherine M.
Published: March 2016

Objectives

The Ottawa Heart Failure Risk Scale (OHFRS) and the Ottawa COPD Risk Scale (OCRS) were developed in order to estimate medical risk and to help guide disposition decisions for patients presenting to the ED with acute exacerbations of heart failure (HF) and COPD. We sought to determine physician attitudes towards these two new risk scales and to identify potential barriers to their ED implementation.

Methods

Two self-administered online surveys were distributed to the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians. The surveys each consisted of 16 questions relating to the OHFRS and OCRS. The primary outcome measures were the overall physician rating of the two risk scales. Secondary outcome measures assessed the likelihood of risk scale implementation into Canadian EDs, as well as the perceived barriers to such implementation. Descriptive statistics were used.

Results

For the OHFRS survey, we received responses from 195 emergency physicians (35.7%). Overall, 74.4% approved of the risk scale based on a Likert rating of 4 or 5 and 66.7% believed that the risk scale would be implemented at their hospital. For the OCRS survey, we received responses from 208 emergency physicians (38.1%). Overall, 76.9% approved of the risk scale based on a Likert rating of 4 or 5 and 70.2% believed that the risk scale would be implemented at their hospital.

Conclusions

Canadian emergency physicians are very supportive of the new OHFRS and OCRS. We believe these risk scales will assist physicians with making safe and efficient disposition decisions and improve outcomes for patients suffering from HF and COPD.
Legal Considerations for Health Care Practitioners After Superstorm Sandy
Authors: Hershey Tina Batra , Van Nostrand Elizabeth , Sood Rishi K. , Potter Margaret
Published: March 2016

During disaster response and recovery, legal issues often arise related to the provision of health care services to affected residents. Superstorm Sandy led to the evacuation of many hospitals and other health care facilities and compromised the ability of health care practitioners to provide necessary primary care. This article highlights the challenges and legal concerns faced by health care practitioners in the aftermath of Sandy, which included limitations in scope of practice, difficulties with credentialing, lack of portability of practitioner licenses, and concerns regarding volunteer immunity and liability. Governmental and nongovernmental entities employed various strategies to address these concerns; however, legal barriers remained that posed challenges throughout the Superstorm Sandy response and recovery period. We suggest future approaches to address these legal considerations, including policies and legislation, additional waivers of law, and planning and coordination among multiple levels of governmental and nongovernmental organizations. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:518–524)
Zika Virus: A Basic Overview of an Emerging Arboviral Infection in the Western Hemisphere
Authors: Vest Kelly G.
Published: March 2016

Since February 2015, Zika virus has spread throughout the Western Hemisphere, starting in Brazil. As of March 2016, autochthonous transmission has been reported in at least 31 countries or territories. For countries in the Americas, the spread of Zika virus, a previously unfamiliar disease, follows similar emerging infection introductions of West Nile virus and Chikungunya virus and their spread throughout the American continents and the Caribbean nations. The Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization have issued alerts and a Public Health Emergency of International Concern announcement related to the recent cluster of microcephaly cases and other neurological disorders in Brazil that are temporally associated with Zika virus, which highlights the possible adverse impact of viral infection. This article provides an overview of the Zika virus infection and presents the historical background of the virus, a description of the pathogen, the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of Zika virus infection, diagnosis and treatment approaches, and prevention and control measures. Understanding what is known about the virus and its clinical presentation will assist in prevention, detection, and response measures to reduce and control the spread of the virus throughout the Western Hemisphere. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 6)
Challenges During a Chlorine Gas Emergency Response
Authors: Christensen Bryan E. , Duncan Mary Anne , King Sallyann C. , Hunter Candis , Ruckart Perri , Orr Maureen F.
Published: March 2016

Objective

A chlorine gas release occurred at a poultry processing plant as a result of an accidental mixing of sodium hypochlorite and an acidic antimicrobial treatment. We evaluated the public health and emergency medical services response and developed and disseminated public health recommendations to limit the impact of future incidents.

Methods

We conducted key informant interviews with the state health department; local fire, emergency medical services, and police departments; county emergency management; and representatives from area hospitals to understand the response mechanisms employed for this incident.

Results

After being exposed to an estimated 40-pound chlorine gas release, 170 workers were triaged on the scene and sent to 5 area hospitals. Each hospital redistributed staff or called in extra staff (eg, physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists) in response to the event. Interviews with hospital staff emphasized the need for improved communication with responders at the scene of a chemical incident.

Conclusions

While responding, hospitals handled the patient surge without outside assistance because of effective planning, training, and drilling. The investigation highlighted that greater interagency communication can play an important role in ensuring that chemical incident patients are managed and treated in a timely manner. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:553–556)
Towards a worldwide (deliberative) democracy? Catholic social teaching and the idea of global governance
Authors: Sekerák Marián
Published: March 2016

Catholic social teaching (CST) is viewed as one of the most eminent social concepts. A global governance as a more or less new idea of the CST seems to be appealing and provocative. In this paper, I aim to examine its plausibility in the light of the current debates on democratic innovations. It seems that the idea of global governance, as offered by the CST, is focussed mainly on pure institutional boosting and seeking the most appropriate ‘global political authority’, which observes ‘consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity (and) seeks to establish the common good’, as written by Benedict XVI. I suggest that a viable type of global democracy should make room for active peoples’ engagement. Viewed from this perspective, I propose to introduce some elements of public deliberation into the global democratic network. Such an improvement could help to reach more credible global governance and achieve an expected level of its efficacy.
A comparative analysis of the successive lumping and the lattice path counting algorithms
Authors: Katehakis Michael N. , Smit Laurens C. , Spieksma Floske M.
Published: March 2016

This paper provides a comparison of the successive lumping (SL) methodology developed in Katehakis et al. (2015) with the popular lattice path counting (Mohanty (1979)) in obtaining rate matrices for queueing models, satisfying the specific quasi birth and death structure as in Van Leeuwaarden et al. (2009) and Van Leeuwaarden and Winands (2006). The two methodologies are compared both in terms of applicability requirements and numerical complexity by analyzing their performance for the same classical queueing models considered in Van Leeuwaarden et al. (2009). The main findings are threefold. First, when both methods are applicable, the SL-based algorithms outperform the lattice path counting algorithm (LPCA). Second, there are important classes of problems (for example, models with (level) nonhomogenous rates or with finite state spaces) for which the SL methodology is applicable and for which the LPCA cannot be used. Third, another main advantage of SL algorithms over lattice path counting is that the former includes a method to compute the steady state distribution using this rate matrix.
Conditions for permanence and ergodicity of certain stochastic predator–prey models
Authors: Du Nguyen Huu , Nguyen Dang Hai , Yin G. George
Published: March 2016

In this paper we derive sufficient conditions for the permanence and ergodicity of a stochastic predator–prey model with a Beddington–DeAngelis functional response. The conditions obtained are in fact very close to the necessary conditions. Both nondegenerate and degenerate diffusions are considered. One of the distinctive features of our results is that they enable the characterization of the support of a unique invariant probability measure. It proves the convergence in total variation norm of the transition probability to the invariant measure. Comparisons to the existing literature and matters related to other stochastic predator–prey models are also given.
Continuity properties of a factor of Markov chains
Authors: de Carvalho Walter A. F. , Gallo Sandro , Garcia Nancy L.
Published: March 2016

Starting from a Markov chain with a finite or a countable infinite alphabet, we consider the chain obtained when all but one symbol are indistinguishable for the practitioner. We study conditions on the transition matrix of the Markov chain ensuring that the image chain has continuous or discontinuous transition probabilities with respect to the past.
Limit theorems for a supercritical Poisson random indexed branching process
Authors: Gao Zhenlong , Zhang Yanhua
Published: March 2016

Let {Zn, n = 0, 1, 2, . . .} be a supercritical branching process, {Nt, t ≥ 0} be a Poisson process independent of {Zn, n = 0, 1, 2, . . .}, then {ZNt, t ≥ 0} is a supercritical Poisson random indexed branching process. We show a law of large numbers, central limit theorem, and large and moderate deviation principles for log ZNt.
On sufficient conditions for the comparison in the excess wealth order and spacings
Authors: Belzunce Félix , Martínez-Riquelme Carolina , Ruiz José M. , Sordo Miguel A.
Published: March 2016

The purpose of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, we provide sufficient conditions for the excess wealth order. These conditions are based on properties of the quantile functions which are useful when the dispersive order does not hold. On the other hand, we study sufficient conditions for the comparison in the increasing convex order of spacings of generalized order statistics. These results will be combined to show how we can provide comparisons of quantities of interest in reliability and insurance.
The strong giant in a random digraph
Authors: Penrose Mathew D.
Published: March 2016

Consider a random directed graph on n vertices with independent and identically distributed outdegrees with distribution F having mean μ, and destinations of arcs selected uniformly at random. We show that if μ > 1 then for large n there is very likely to be a unique giant strong component with proportionate size given as the product of two branching process survival probabilities, one with offspring distribution F and the other with Poisson offspring distribution with mean μ. If μ ≤ 1 there is very likely to be no giant strong component. We also extend this to allow for F varying with n.
On Exceedance Times for Some Processes with Dependent Increments
Authors: Asmussen Søren , Foss Sergey
Published: March 2016

Let {Z

n
}
n≥0 be a random walk with a negative drift and independent and identically distributed increments with heavy-tailed distribution, and let M = sup
n≥0
Z

n
be its supremum. Asmussen and Klüppelberg (1996) considered the behavior of the random walk given that M > x for large x, and obtained a limit theorem, as x → ∞, for the distribution of the quadruple that includes the time τ = τ(x) to exceed level x, position Z
τ at this time, position Z
τ-1 at the prior time, and the trajectory up to it (similar results were obtained for the Cramér-Lundberg insurance risk process). We obtain here several extensions of this result to various regenerative-type models and, in particular, to the case of a random walk with dependent increments. Particular attention is given to describing the limiting conditional behavior of τ. The class of models includes Markov-modulated models as particular cases. We also study fluid models, the Björk-Grandell risk process, give examples where the order of τ is genuinely different from the random walk case, and discuss which growth rates are possible. Our proofs are purely probabilistic and are based on results and ideas from Asmussen, Schmidli and Schmidt (1999), Foss and Zachary (2002), and Foss, Konstantopoulos and Zachary (2007).
Potential Measures of One-Sided Markov Additive Processes with Reflecting and Terminating Barriers
Authors: Ivanovs Jevgenijs
Published: March 2016

Consider a one-sided Markov additive process with an upper and a lower barrier, where each can be either reflecting or terminating. For both defective and nondefective processes, and all possible scenarios, we identify the corresponding potential measures, which help to generalize a number of results for one-sided Lévy processes. The resulting rather neat formulae have various applications in risk and queueing theories, and, in particular, they lead to quasistationary distributions of the corresponding processes.
A Fluid EOQ Model with Markovian Environment
Authors: Barron Yonit
Published: March 2016

We consider a production-inventory model operating in a stochastic environment that is modulated by a finite state continuous-time Markov chain. When the inventory level reaches zero, an order is placed from an external supplier. The costs (purchasing and holding costs) are modulated by the state at the order epoch time. Applying a matrix analytic approach, fluid flow techniques, and martingales, we develop methods to obtain explicit equations for these cost functionals in the discounted case and under the long-run average criterion. Finally, we extend the model to allow backlogging.
Uses of the Past in Twelfth-Century Germany: The Case of the Middle
High German Kaiserchronik
Authors: Chinca Mark , Young Christopher
Published: March 2016

Despite its broad transmission and its influence on vernacular chronicle writing
in the German Middle Ages, the Kaiserchronik has not received
the attention from historians that it deserves. This article describes some of
the ideological, historical, and literary contexts that shaped the original
composition of the chronicle in the middle of the twelfth century: Christian
salvation history, the revival of interest in the Roman past, the consolidation
of a vernacular literature of knowledge, and the emergence of a practice of
writing history as “serious entertainment” by authors such
as Geoffrey of Monmouth and Godfrey of Viterbo. Placed in these multiple
contexts, which have a European as well as a specifically German dimension, the
Kaiserchronik emerges as an important document of the uses
of the past in fostering a sense of German identity among secular and
ecclesiastical elites in the high Middle Ages.
Empirical Spirits: Islam, Spiritism, and the Virtues of Science in Iran
Authors: Doostdar Alireza
Published: March 2016

This article examines some aspects of the reception of French Spiritism and psychical research in twentieth century Iran: its promotion by Iranian modernist intellectuals before the Second World War, and its appropriation by Shi‘i Muslim ‘ulama in the 1940s and 1960s. Spiritism appealed to those intellectuals and scholars who sought to reconcile their commitments to science with their religious longings and dedication to moral reform. In comparing these encounters with spirit communication, I show that the adoption of putatively scientific claims in contexts that professional scientists usually disavow can be about much more than strategic appropriation and attempts to justify preexisting doctrines. They also allow us to understand science's power to mold the moral subjectivities of reformers through selective absorption into long-continuous traditions of virtue.
Judging the Franks: Proof, Justice, and Diversity in Late Medieval Alexandria and Damascus
Authors: Apellániz Francisco
Published: March 2016

This article describes how Islamic and Frankish legal devices complemented each other and were even combined to settle disagreements in the late medieval Middle East. For this purpose, it focuses on two legal institutions that provided responses to the biases of Islamic law against non-Muslims and to the prejudices of Franks against the local law. The first are the notaries sent to the Mamluk cities by the Venetian government to draw up legal documents and to support the transactions of Venetian merchants. The second are the new royal orsiyāsacourts implemented by the sultans, where justice was dispensed by government officials instead of by traditional judges, orqāḍīs. Specifically, the article discusses, in a comparative manner, what constituted proof for Christians and Muslims, whether minorities could bear testimony or not, and how notaries and judges dealt with unbelievers. A common notarial culture, together with the expansion ofsiyāsajurisdiction over the affairs of foreigners, brought about a much deeper legal interplay than has previously been understood. Ultimately, it is argued that Mediterranean medieval societies had evolving attitudes toward justice and diversity, and approached their own legal traditions in ways compatible with the conflict resolution, while constantly borrowing legal concepts about difference from each other.
GETTING READY TO PRAY: SAPPHO'S NEW ‘BROTHERS’ SONG
Authors: Gribble David
Published: March 2016

With the recent publication of the new Sappho song by Dirk Obbink, we now have two largely preserved songs by Sappho apparently dealing with prayers for a brother away at sea. Both are examples of a type of song relating not to eros, marriage, or hymns to gods, but to bonds of love and duty between women and their male family; songs whose primary emotional focus is not other women, but male relatives absent from home.
DID THE MOSSYNOIKOI WHISTLE? A CONSIDERATION OF THE DISTANCE BETWEEN POLEIS IN THE BLACK SEA MOUNTAINS GIVEN AT ANABASIS 5.4.31
Authors: Brennan Shane
Published: March 2016

In May 401 bce the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger started out for Mesopotamia from his satrapy in western Anatolia with an army of levies and Greek mercenaries. Although he did not declare his intentions at the outset, his aim was to win control of the empire from his brother, King Artaxerxes. At the battle of Cunaxa in Babylonia Cyrus was killed, though the engagement itself was inconclusive. Emerging practically unscathed, the Greek contingent began what became an epic march to safety through hostile territory. The journey took them north along the middle course of the Tigris river, into the Armenian Mountains, and finally, in late April 400, to the peaks overlooking the Black Sea. From the Greek colony of Trapezus they proceeded alternately by foot and ship to Byzantium. Their story is told in the Anabasis of Xenophon the Athenian, the only first-hand account of the journey that has come down to us.
General Review
Authors: Izzet Vedia , Shorrock Robert
Published: March 2016

A Little Greek Reader by James Morwood and Stephen Anderson forms a companion volume to A Little Latin Reader by Mary English and Georgia Irby (though one might be seduced into thinking from the cover illustration and italic title print that this is a volume from the JACT Reading Greek stable). The twenty-plus chapters focus on different points of Greek grammar (for example, ‘Indirect Statement’ [64–74] and ‘Result Clauses’ [99–106]), prefaced with brief grammatical introductions and then illustrated with a selection of unadapted passages in prose and verse. Each passage is supported by linguistic and contextual notes, and an extensive vocabulary is supplied at the back of the book. Although billed as ‘an ideal supplement for undergraduate courses in beginning and intermediate Greek’ (back cover blurb) it should also be of use to sixth-form teachers for revision and extension work (it was, in fact, trialled at the JACT Greek Summer School in 2013). Appendices supply short biographical notes and offer help on meter and dialect. There is also a useful guide to literary terms – though the definition of ‘hyperbaton’ – ‘the dislocation of normal word order, by way of displacing one part of one clause into another’ (213; our emphasis) – seems unnecessarily proscriptive.
A Fourier Approach for the Level Crossings of Shot Noise Processes with Jumps
Authors: Biermé Hermine , Desolneux Agnès
Published: March 2016

We use a change-of-variable formula in the framework of functions of bounded variation to derive an explicit formula for the Fourier transform of the level crossing function of shot noise processes with jumps. We illustrate the result in some examples and give some applications. In particular, it allows us to study the asymptotic behavior of the mean number of level crossings as the intensity of the Poisson point process of the shot noise process goes to infinity.
Optimal Control with Absolutely Continuous Strategies for Spectrally Negative Lévy Processes
Authors: Kyprianou Andreas E. , Loeffen Ronnie , Pérez José-Luis
Published: March 2016

In the last few years there has been renewed interest in the classical control problem of de Finetti (1957) for the case where the underlying source of randomness is a spectrally negative Lévy process. In particular, a significant step forward was made by Loeffen (2008), who showed that a natural and very general condition on the underlying Lévy process which allows one to proceed with the analysis of the associated Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation is that its Lévy measure is absolutely continuous, having completely monotone density. In this paper we consider de Finetti's control problem, but with the restriction that control strategies are absolutely continuous with respect to the Lebesgue measure. This problem has been considered by Asmussen and Taksar (1997), Jeanblanc-Picqué and Shiryaev (1995), and Boguslavskaya (2006) in the diffusive case, and Gerber and Shiu (2006) for the case of a Cramér-Lundberg process with exponentially distributed jumps. We show the robustness of the condition that the underlying Lévy measure has a completely monotone density and establish an explicit optimal strategy for this case that envelopes the aforementioned existing results. The explicit optimal strategy in question is the so-called refraction strategy.
Binary Trees, Exploration Processes, and an Extended Ray-Knight Theorem
Authors: Ba Mamadou , Pardoux Etienne , Sow Ahmadou Bamba
Published: March 2016

We study the bijection between binary Galton-Watson trees in continuous time and their exploration process, both in the subcritical and in the supercritical cases. We then take the limit over renormalized quantities, as the size of the population tends to ∞. We thus deduce Delmas' generalization of the second Ray-Knight theorem.
Persistence and Equilibria of Branching Populations with Exponential Intensity
Authors: Kabluchko Zakhar
Published: March 2016

We consider a system of independent branching random walks on R which start from a Poisson point process with intensity of the form e
λ(du) = e-λu
du, where λ ∈ R is chosen in such a way that the overall intensity of particles is preserved. Denote by χ the cluster distribution, and let φ be the log-Laplace transform of the intensity of χ. If λφ'(λ) > 0, we show that the system is persistent, meaning that the point process formed by the particles in the nth generation converges as n → ∞ to a non-trivial point process Πeλ

χ with intensity e
λ. If λφ'(λ) < 0 then the branching population suffers local extinction, meaning that the limiting point process is empty. We characterize point processes on R which are cluster invariant with respect to the cluster distribution χ as mixtures of the point processes Π
ce
λ

χ over c > 0 and λ ∈ K
st, where K
st = {λ ∈ R: φ(λ) = 0, λφ'(λ) > 0}.
On the Residual and Inactivity Times of the Components of Used Coherent Systems
Authors: Goliforushani S. , Asadi M. , Balakrishnan N.
Published: March 2016

In the study of the reliability of technical systems in reliability engineering, coherent systems play a key role. In this paper we consider a coherent system consisting of n components with independent and identically distributed components and propose two time-dependent criteria. The first criterion is a measure of the residual lifetime of live components of a coherent system having some of the components alive when the system fails at time t. The second criterion is a time-dependent measure which enables us to investigate the inactivity times of the failed components of a coherent system still functioning though some of its components have failed. Several ageing and stochastic properties of the proposed measures are then established.
Advances in Complete Mixability
Authors: Puccetti Giovanni , Wang Bin , Wang Ruodu
Published: March 2016

The concept of complete mixability is relevant to some problems of optimal couplings with important applications in quantitative risk management. In this paper we prove new properties of the set of completely mixable distributions, including a completeness and a decomposition theorem. We also show that distributions with a concave density and radially symmetric distributions are completely mixable.
An Inverse Gamma Activity Time Process with Noninteger Parameters and a Self-Similar Limit
Authors: Finlay Richard , Seneta Eugene , Wang Dingcheng
Published: March 2016

We construct a process with inverse gamma increments and an asymptotically self-similar limit. This construction supports the use of long-range-dependent t subordinator models for actual financial data as advocated in Heyde and Leonenko (2005), in that it allows for noninteger-valued model parameters, as is found empirically in model estimation from data.
Lie Algebra Solution of Population Models Based on Time-Inhomogeneous Markov Chains
Authors: House Thomas
Published: March 2016

Many natural populations are well modelled through time-inhomogeneous stochastic processes. Such processes have been analysed in the physical sciences using a method based on Lie algebras, but this methodology is not widely used for models with ecological, medical, and social applications. In this paper we present the Lie algebraic method, and apply it to three biologically well-motivated examples. The result of this is a solution form that is often highly computationally advantageous.