bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fractional urinary fluoride excretion of 6–7-year-old children attending schools in low-fluoride and naturally fluoridated areas in the UK
Authors: Zohoori F. V. , Walls R. , Teasdale L. , Landes D. , Steen I. N. , Moynihan P. , Omid N. , Maguire A. 
Published: September 2012

F is an important trace element for bones and teeth. The protective effect of F against dental caries is well established. Urine is the prime vehicle for the excretion of F from the body; however, the relationship between F intake and excretion is complex: the derived fractional urinary F excretion (FUFE) aids understanding of this in different age groups. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between (1) total daily F intake (TDFI) and daily urinary F excretion (DUFE), and (2) TDFI and FUFE in 6–7-year-olds, recruited in low-F and naturally fluoridated (natural-F) areas in north-east England. TDFI from diet and toothbrushing and DUFE were assessed through F analysis of duplicate dietary plate, toothbrushing expectorate and urine samples using a F-ion-selective electrode. FUFE was calculated as the ratio between DUFE and TDFI. Pearson's correlation and regression analysis were used to investigate the relationship between TDFI and FUFE. A group of thirty-three children completed the study; twenty-one receiving low-F water (0·30 mg F/l) and twelve receiving natural-F water (1·06 mg F/l) at school. The mean TDFI was 0·076 (sd0·038) and 0·038 (sd0·027) mg/kg per d for the natural-F and low-F groups, respectively. The mean DUFE was 0·017 (sd0·007) and 0·012 (sd0·006) mg/kg per d for the natural-F and low-F groups, respectively. FUFE was lower in the natural-F group (30 %) compared with the low-F group (40 %). Pearson's correlation coefficient for (1) TDFI and DUFE was +0·22 (P= 0·22) and for (2) TDFI and FUFE was − 0·63 (P< 0·001). In conclusion, there was no correlation between TDFI and DUFE. However, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between FUFE and TDFI.
AFRICA IN INDIAN INK: URDU ARTICULATIONS OF INDIAN SETTLEMENT IN EAST AFRICA
Authors: GREEN NILE 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTThis article examines an Urdu travelogue written in 1901 to analyze the discursive frameworks by which Africa was rendered knowable to Indian settlers. As a vernacular ethnography written for a readership of Punjabi migrants associated with the Uganda Railway, the travelogue provides our earliest direct evidence of colonial Indian attitudes towards the peoples and landscapes of East Africa. Envisioning the region as at once an imperial and Islamic settlement zone, the travelogue documents the emergence of an ‘imperial-Islamicate’ discourse that incorporated both littoral and interior East Africa into an industrializing oceanic culture area.
TESTED LOYALTIES: POLICE AND POLITICS IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1939–63
Authors: SHEAR KEITH 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTWell into their rule, at a time when South Africa was increasingly perceived as a police state, the Nationalists, the party of apartheid, depended for the implementation of their policies on structures and personnel inherited from previous governments. Even in the South African Police, the institution most associated with the country's authoritarian reputation, key developments of the early apartheid decades originated in and cannot properly be understood without reference to the preceding period. A legacy of conflict between pro- and anti-war white policemen after 1939 was particularly significant. Concentrating on the careers and views of illustrative officers, notably members of the Special Branch, rather than on ‘the police’ in abstraction, this article analyses the complexities and continuities in the South African state's handling of domestic dissent in the years before and after the apartheid election of 1948.
‘When we launched the government's agenda…’: aid agencies and local politics in urban Africa
Authors: Esser Daniel E. 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTPolitical realities in the capital cities of impoverished countries emerging from violent conflict illustrate how local actors can be hindered in conducting political affairs independently from the interests and influence of national governments as well as international agencies. This experience problematises the argument that the main cause of political impasse in African cities governed by opposition parties is incomplete decentralisation, whereby a devolution of responsibilities is not matched by a downward reallocation of resources. Although resulting competition constrains local governments' opportunities to deliver basic services, we need to look beyond the national scale to uncover the drivers of institutional change and gauge the promise of donor-driven local political empowerment. Urban politics in Africa continues to be shaped by global aid discourses, which are translated into local policy frameworks through interest convergence between international and national actors. The case of Freetown, Sierra Leone provides an illustration of such macro-level alignment and resulting local frictions. At the same time, it also demonstrates how local politics have challenged the technocratic, apolitical reinvention of urban governance in the global South perpetuated by the international aid industry.
USING BEST-WORST SCALING IN HORIZON SCANNING FOR HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA TECHNOLOGIES
Authors: Gallego Gisselle , Bridges John F.P. , Flynn Terry , Blauvelt Barri M. , Niessen Louis W. 
Published: September 2012

Objectives: There is a growing need for efficient procedures for identification of emerging technologies by horizon scanning systems. We demonstrate the value of best-worst scaling (BWS) in exploring clinicians’ views on emerging technologies that will impact outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the next 5 to 10 years.Methods: Clinicians in Asia, Europe, and the United States were surveyed and their views about eleven emerging technologies relevant to HCC were explored using BWS (case 1). This involved systematically presenting respondents with subsets of five technologies and asking them to identify those that will have the most and least impact on HCC within 5 to 10 years. Statistical analysis was based on sequential best-worst and analyzed using conditional logistic regression.Results: A total of 120 clinicians uniformly distributed across ten countries completed the survey (37 percent response rate). Respondents were predominately hepatologist (41 percent) who focused on HCC (65 percent) and had national influence in this field (39 percent). Respondents viewed molecular targeted therapy (p < .001) and early detection of HCC (p < .001) as having most potential, while improved surgical techniques (p < .001) and biopsy free HCC diagnostics (p < .001) were viewed upon negatively.Conclusions: We demonstrate that BWS could be an important research tool to facilitate horizon scanning and HTA more broadly. Our research demonstrates the value of including clinicians’ preferences as a source of data in horizon scanning, but such methods could be used to incorporate the opinions of a broad array of stakeholders, including those in advocacy and public policy.
ORDER SETS IN HEALTH CARE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THEIR EFFECTS
Authors: Chan Alvita J. , Chan Julie , Cafazzo Joseph A. , Rossos Peter G. , Tripp Tim , Shojania Kaveh , Khan Tanya , Easty Anthony C. 
Published: September 2012

Objectives: Order sets are widely used in hospitals to enter diagnosis and treatment orders. To determine the effectiveness of order sets in improving guideline adherence, treatment outcomes, processes of care, efficiency, and cost, we conducted a systematic review of the literature.Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed in various databases for studies published between January 1, 1990, and April 18, 2009. A total of eighteen studies met inclusion criteria. No randomized controlled trials were found.Results: Outcomes of the included studies were summarized qualitatively due to variations in study population, intervention type, and outcome measures. There were no important inconsistencies between the results reported by studies involving different types of order sets. While the studies generally suggested positive outcomes, they were typically of low quality, with simple before-after designs and other methodological limitations.Conclusions: The benefits of order sets remain eminently plausible, but given the paucity of high quality evidence, further investigations to formally evaluate the effectiveness of order sets would be highly valuable.
DEUS EX MACHINA OR E-SLAVE? PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF HEALTHCARE ROBOTICS IN THE GERMAN PRINT MEDIA
Authors: Laryionava Katsiaryna , Gross Dominik 
Published: September 2012

Objectives: The news media plays a central role in providing information regarding new medical technologies and exerts an influence on their social perception, understanding, and assessments. This study, therefore, analyzes how healthcare robotics are portrayed in the German print news media. It examines whether the risks and opportunities of new medical technologies are presented in a balanced manner and investigates whether or not print media coverage of these technologies is affected by science-fiction discourse, in which robots appear mostly as a threat to humans.Methods: Ten years of German print media coverage (2000–2010) have been studied by means of systematic, standardized content analysis.Results: Reporting focuses predominantly on beneficial advancements in medical practice and the advantages of robotics for patients, medical staff, and society. The results show that the dominant relationship between robots and humans that is transmitted in print media in medical contexts is positive, with robots mostly portrayed as assistants, colleagues, or even friends. Only a small number of articles report ethical questions and risks.Conclusions: In contrast to science-fiction discourse, the German print media provides a positive picture of robotics to the lay public.
EARLY AWARENESS AND ALERT SYSTEMS: AN OVERVIEW OF EUROSCAN METHODS
Authors: Gutierrez-Ibarluzea Iñaki , Simpson Sue , Benguria-Arrate Gaizka ,   the Members of EuroScan International Network
Published: September 2012

Objectives: Early awareness and alert (EAA) activities are increasingly recognized to be an important component of the health technology assessment (HTA) process. Sharing information on methods used in this discipline is vital to ensure the development of sustainable systems. The objectives of this study is to outline the approach taken to share the different methods that members of the EuroScan International Network use by producing a methods toolkit; and to provide an overview of the similarities and differences in methods adopted by EAA systems.Methods: A Delphi technique was used to develop the methods toolkit. Structured questionnaires were used to identify the sources used in the identification of emerging technologies and to determine the methods used by agencies to carry out EAA activities.Results: A methods toolkit incorporating guidance on all of the stages described by EuroScan members was produced. The toolkit and an accompanying checklist presents users with different methods that can be adopted to suit their needs. The comparative analysis demonstrates that different methods are being used by EAA systems dependent on resources available and customer requirements. Differences in identification, filtration, prioritization, and assessment are apparent along with the role of collaborators in these processes.Conclusions: The methods used by EAA systems are not homogeneous resulting in a toolkit constructed on the basis of “one size doesn't fit all.” Methods in this discipline are developing continually to accommodate changes in health systems and the HTA world. Differences between agencies and the sharing of ideas and experiences enable EAA agencies to adapt to these developments.
IMPLEMENTING A NATIONAL EARLY AWARENESS AND ALERT SYSTEM FOR NEW AND EMERGING HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES IN ITALY: THE COTE PROJECT
Authors: Migliore Antonio , Perrini Maria Rosaria , Jefferson Tom , Cerbo Marina 
Published: September 2012

Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish a national Early Awareness and Alert (EAA) system for the identification and assessment of new and emerging health technologies in Italy.Methods: In 2008, Agenas, a public body supporting Regions and the Ministry of Health (MoH) in health services research, started a project named COTE (Observatory of New and Emerging Health Technologies) with the ultimate aim of implementing a national EAA system. The COTE project involved all stakeholders (MoH, Regions, Industry, Universities, technical government bodies, and Scientific Societies), in defining the key characteristics and methods of the EAA system. Agreement with stakeholders was reached using three separate workshops.Results: During the workshops, participants shared and agreed methods for identification of new and emerging health technologies, prioritization, and assessment. The structure of the Horizon Scanning (HS) reports was discussed and defined. The main channels for dissemination of outputs were identified as the EuroScan database, and the stakeholders’ Web portals. During the final workshop, Agenas presented the first three HS reports produced at national level and proposed the establishment of a permanent national EAA system.Conclusions: The COTE Project created the basis for a permanent national EAA system in Italy. An infrastructure to enable the stakeholders network to grow was created, methods to submit new and emerging health technologies for possible evaluation were established, methods for assessment of the technologies selected were defined, and the stakeholders involvement was delineated (in the identification, assessment, and dissemination stages).
ENGAGING CLINICIANS IN EVIDENCE-BASED DISINVESTMENT: ROLE AND PERCEPTIONS OF EVIDENCE
Authors: Watt Amber M. , Willis Cameron D. , Hodgetts Katherine , Elshaug Adam G. , Hiller Janet E. 
Published: September 2012

Objectives:The aim of this study was to determine how evidence from systematic review (SR) is perceived and negotiated by expert stakeholders in considering a technology for potential disinvestment.Methods:An evidence-informed stakeholder engagement examined results from a diagnostic accuracy SR of vitamin B12and folate tests. Pathologists deliberated around the SR findings to generate an informed contribution to future policy for the funding of B12and folate tests. Deliberations were transcribed and subject to qualitative analysis.Results:Pathologists did not engage with findings from the SR in depth; rather they sought to contest the terms of the problem driving the review and attempted to reframe it. Pathologists questioned the usefulness of SR outcomes given the variable definitions of B12deficiency and deferred addressing disinvestment options specifically pertaining to B12testing. However,folatetesting was proffered as a potential disinvestment candidate, based upon pathologists' definition of “appropriate” evidence beyond the bounds of the SR.Conclusions:The value of SR to informing disinvestment deliberations by expert stakeholders may be a function of timing as well as content. Engagement of stakeholders in co-produced evidence may be required at two levels: (i) Early in the synthesis phase to help shape the SR and harmonize expert views with the available evidence (including gaps); (ii) Collaboration in primary research to fill evidence-gaps thus supporting evidence-based disinvestment. Without this, information asymmetry between clinically engaged experts and decision makers may preclude the collaborative, informed, and technical discussions required to generate productive policy change.
The French noun phrase in preschool children with SLI: morphosyntactic and error analyses
Authors: ROYLE PHAEDRA , STINE ISABELLE 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTWe studied spontaneous speech noun-phrase production in eight French-speaking children with SLI (aged 5 ; 0 to 5 ; 11) and controls matched on age (4 ; 10 to 5 ; 11) or MLU (aged 3 ; 2 to 4 ; 1). Results showed that children with SLI prefer simple DP structures to complex ones while producing more substitution and omission errors than controls. The three groups also showed distinct error patterns. Children with SLI appeared to have difficulty with phonological processes involved in liaison, elision, and contraction, whereas control children tended to make more lexical errors. These data support models of reduced morphosyntactic and syntactic abilities in this population, and suggest that morphophonological processes should also be integrated into descriptive models of SLI.
Role of free school lunch in the associations between family-environmental factors and children's fruit and vegetable intake in four European countries
Authors: Ray Carola , Roos Eva , Brug Johannes , Behrendt Isabel , Ehrenblad Bettina , Yngve Agneta , te Velde Saskia J 
Published: September 2012

AbstractObjectiveTo determine whether an association exists between different clusters of fruit- and vegetable-specific family-environmental factors and children's daily fruit and vegetable intake, and whether these associations differ between countries with different school lunch policies.DesignCross-sectional data from four European countries participating in the Pro Greens project in 2009. These countries have different school food policies: two serve free school lunches and two do not. Self-administered data were used. Food frequency questions served to assess fruit and vegetable intakes. The study assessed sixteen children-perceived family-environmental factors, which were clustered based on principal component analysis into five sum variables: fruit and vegetable encouragement; vegetable modelling, family routine and demand; fruit modelling; fruit and vegetable snacking practices; and fruit and vegetable allowing.SettingSchools in Finland, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.SubjectsSchoolchildren aged 11 years (n3317).ResultsMultilevel logistic regression analyses revealed positive associations between nearly all clustered family-environmental factors and daily fruit and vegetable intake. The study tested a moderation effect between family-environmental factors and school lunch policy. In five out of twenty models significant interactions occurred. In the stratified analyses, most of the associations between family-environmental factors and raw and cooked vegetable intake were stronger in Germany and the Netherlands, neither of which provided free school lunches.ConclusionsChildren reporting more fruit- and vegetable-promoting family-environmental factors had a more frequent intake of fruits and vegetables; the associations were stronger for vegetable intakes in countries providing no free school lunches, suggesting that parental involvement is crucial when schools offer no vegetables.
Arbeitsgedächtnisprofile von Kindern unterschiedlicher Begabungsniveaus
Authors: Schuchardt Kirsten , Mähler Claudia 
Published: September 2012

Zusammenfassung: Das Interesse der vorliegenden Arbeit besteht in der Klärung des Verhältnisses zwischen Arbeitsgedächtnis und Intelligenz. Es soll die Frage untersucht werden, ob Intelligenzunterschiede mit spezifischen Arbeitsgedächtnisprofilen, d. h. mit spezifischen Stärken und Schwächen im Arbeitsgedächtnis einhergehen. Hierbei wurde das Arbeitsgedächtnismodell von Baddeley zugrunde gelegt, um differenzierte Analysen der Subsysteme Zentrale Exekutive, Phonologische Schleife und Visuell-räumlicher Notizblock vorzunehmen. An der Studie nahmen 18 Kinder mit weit überdurchschnittlicher Intelligenz (IQ von 121 bis 148), 21 Kinder mit deutlich unterdurchschnittlicher Intelligenz (IQ von 54 bis 79) und eine durchschnittliche Kontrollgruppe von 23 Kindern (IQ von 90 bis 110) teil. Alle Kinder bearbeiteten im Einzelversuch eine umfangreiche Testbatterie mit Aufgaben zu allen Subkomponenten des Arbeitsgedächtnisses. Die Ergebnisse belegen Gruppenunterschiede in allen Bereichen des Arbeitsgedächtnisses, aber auch subsystemspezifische Stärken bzw. Schwächen in Abhängigkeit vom Intelligenzniveau. Diese charakteristischen Leistungsmuster in den Arbeitsgedächtnisfunktionen werden als Grundlage für das jeweils unterschiedliche Lernpotenzial und Schulerfolg diskutiert.
Kritik am Diskrepanzkriterium in der Diagnostik von Legasthenie und Dyskalkulie
Authors: Ehlert Antje , Schroeders Ulrich , Fritz-Stratmann Annemarie 
Published: September 2012

Zusammenfassung: Laut den beiden großen internationalen Klassifikationssystemen psychischer Störungen, ICD-10 und DSM-IV-TR, muss zur Diagnose einer Dyskalkulie oder Legasthenie u. a. eine Diskrepanz zwischen der auf Grund allgemeiner kognitiver Leistung zu erwartenden und der tatsächlichen Rechenleistung vorliegen. Im ersten Teil dieses Beitrags soll die national und international geäußerte Kritik zu inhaltlichen und methodischen Schwächen aufgegriffen und gebündelt diskutiert werden. Die Annahme einer Diskrepanz impliziert auch, dass sich rechenschwache Kinder, deren Rechenleistung zusätzlich das Diskrepanzkriterium erfüllt, von anderen rechenschwachen Kindern abgrenzen lassen. Um diese Vorstellung zu entkräften, soll in einem zweiten Schritt empirisch überprüft werden, inwiefern eine auf der Diskrepanz zwischen erwarteter und gemessener Rechenleistung basierende Gruppenzuordnung künstlich oder gerechtfertigt ist. Dazu wurden die rechenschwachen Kinder einer geschichteten Stichprobe bestehend aus 458 Kindern zwei Gruppen zugewiesen: Die Kinder der ersten Gruppe zeigen schwache Rechenleistungen in einem curricular orientierten Rechentest und schneiden auch schlechter ab als auf Grund eines Intelligenztests zu erwarten wäre. Die rechenschwachen Kinder der zweiten Gruppe erfüllen das Diskrepanzkriterium hingegen nicht. Die beiden Gruppen werden hinsichtlich ihres Verständnisses mathematischer Konzepte mit Hilfe eines kriterienorientierten Tests, der auf dem mathematischen Kompetenzstufenmodell von Fritz und Ricken (2008*) beruht ( Fritz, Ricken, Balzer, Leutner & Willmes, 2012 ), miteinander verglichen. Es zeigt sich, dass die Kinder der beiden rechenschwachen Gruppen über dieselben mathematischen Konzepte verfügen. Deswegen legen sowohl die wissenschaftlich-theoretische Diskussion als auch die Ergebnisse der empirischen Studie den Schluss nahe, dass die Verwendung eines Diskrepanzkriteriums in der Diagnostik einer Teilleistungsschwäche fraglich ist und durch eine kriterienorientierte Diagnostik, die auf basale numerische Grundfähigkeiten fokussiert, ersetzt werden sollte.