bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Wideband microstrip‐to‐CPS transition with good out‐of‐band performance for UWB application
Authors: Beng Lim Teck , Zhu Lei , Guan Ying , Cheng Phoa Ngee 
Published: February 2011

AbstractA novel wideband microstrip‐to‐coplanar stripline (CPS) transition with good out‐of‐band performance for ultra‐wideband (UWB) has been proposed and developed. This transition consists of a coupled‐line structure and a stepped‐impedance shunt stub. This hybrid arrangement not only realizes impedance/field matching simultaneously in the desired passband but also achieves sharpened out‐of‐band rejection rate as inquired in UWB communication. As its operating mechanism is described, a single transition is designed to cover the whole UWB band (3.1–10.6 GHz). Predicted results are then reasonably verified in experiment in a wide band via fabrication and measurement of a back‐to‐back transition circuit. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:836–838, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.25882
A novel microstrip resonator with broadband filtering and narrowband radiating functions
Authors: Sung Y. J. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThis letter proposes a novel microstrip resonator that can perform filtering and radiating functions simultaneously.The proposed structure consists of outer ring, inner ring, circular patch, and three ports. The operating frequencies (f1 and f2) for a filter and an antenna are different. At the lower band, in which the center frequency is f1, the proposed structure represents the characteristics of a wideband bandpass filter that has three transmission poles in a passband. Also, the proposed structure is operated as a radiating element at f2. The measured isolation between the filter and the antenna is less than −25 dB over the entire impedance bandwidth for the filter and the antenna. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:940–943, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.25884
Low‐profile multiband planar hybrid antenna design for mobile handset applications
Authors: Sim Chow‐Yen‐Desmond , Cheng Po‐Chun , Lee Ching‐Her 
Published: February 2011

AbstractA compact size planar microstrip‐fed monopole antenna designed for mobile handset applications is proposed. To operate at global system for mobile communication (GSM)/global positioning system/digital communication system/personal communication system/universal mobile telecommunications system and 2.4‐GHz wireless local‐area network bands, a hybrid technique of joining the horizontal section of a T‐monopole to an open‐loop back coupling strip and loading a pair of monopole slot into the ground plane is used. Two operating bands are observed (along 3:1 VSWR) with the lower band covering only the GSM application, while the wide upper operating band covers the remaining applications. The effects on the antenna performances by tuning the various vital parameters have also been studied. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:910–915, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.25889
Estimating and testing for center effects in competing risks
Authors: Katsahian Sandrine , Boudreau Christian 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThe problems of fitting Gaussian frailties proportional hazards models for the subdistribution of a competing risk and of testing for center effects are considered. In the analysis of competing risks data, Fine and Gray proposed a proportional hazards model for the subdistribution to directly assess the effects of covariates on the marginal failure probabilities of a given failure cause. Katsahianbiet al. extended their model to clustered time to event data, by including random center effects or frailties in the subdistribution hazard. We first introduce an alternate estimation procedure to the one proposed by Katsahian et al. This alternate estimation method is based on the penalized partial likelihood approach often used in fitting Gaussian frailty proportional hazards models in the standard survival analysis context, and has the advantage of using standard survival analysis software. Second, four hypothesis tests for the presence of center effects are given and compared via Monte‐Carlo simulations. Statistical and numerical considerations lead us to formulate pragmatic guidelines as to which of the four tests is preferable. We also illustrate the proposed methodology with registry data from bone marrow transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Regression analysis of longitudinal data with informative observation times and application to medical cost data
Authors: Zhu Liang , Sun Jianguo , Tong Xingwei , Pounds Stanley 
Published: February 2011

AbstractLongitudinal data analysis is one of the most discussed and applied areas in statistics and a great deal of literature has been developed for it. However, most of the existing literature focus on the situation where observation times are fixed or can be treated as fixed constants. This paper considers the situation where these observation times may be random variables and more importantly, they may be related to the underlying longitudinal variable or process of interest. Furthermore, covariate effects may be time‐varying. For the analysis, a joint modeling approach is proposed and in particular, for estimation of time‐varying regression parameters, an estimating equation‐based procedure is developed. Both asymptotic and finite sample properties of the proposed estimates are established. The methodology is applied to an acute myeloid leukemia trial that motivated this study. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Designing a seamless phase II/III clinical trial using early outcomes for treatment selection: An application in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Friede T. , Parsons N. , Stallard N. , Todd S. , Valdes Marquez E. , Chataway J. , Nicholas R. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractIn recent years adaptive seamless phase II/III designs (ASDs) allowing treatment or dose selection at an interim analysis have gained much attention because of their potential to save development costs and to shorten time‐to‐market of a new compound compared to conventional drug development programmes with separate trials for individual phases. In this paper, we describe an ASD with treatment selection based on early outcome data, specifically considering the situation where no final outcomes are observed at the time of the interim analysis. Bringing together combination tests for adaptive designs and the closure principle for multiple testing, control of the familywise type I error rate in the strong sense is achieved. Furthermore, a simulation model is proposed based on standardized test statistics that allows the generation of virtual trials for a variety of outcomes. We use this simulation model to investigate the actual type I error rate of the proposed testing procedure and find that the familywise type I error rate is controlled as expected. The method is often conservative, with the degree of conservatism depending on the correlation between early and late outcome, the true mean values of the early outcome in the different treatment groups and the selection rule. The investigations are motivated and illustrated by an application of the proposed design and simulation model to progressive multiple sclerosis. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bayes computation for ecological inference
Authors: Wakefield Jon , Haneuse Sebastien , Dobra Adrian , Teeple Elizabeth 
Published: February 2011

AbstractEcological data are available at the level of the group, rather than at the level of the individual. The use of ecological data in spatial epidemiological investigations is particularly common. Although the computational methods described are more generally applicable, this paper concentrates on the situation in which the margins of 2 × 2 tables are observed in each ofngeographical areas, with a Bayesian approach to inference. We consider auxiliary schemes that impute the missing data, and compare with a previously suggested normal approximation. The analysis of ecological data is subject to ecological bias, with the only reliable means of removing such bias being the addition of auxiliary individual‐level information. Various schemes have been suggested for this supplementation, and we illustrate how the computational methods may be applied to the analysis of such enhanced data. The methods are illustrated using simulated data and two examples. In the first example, the ecological data are supplemented with a simple random sample of individual‐level data, and in this example the normal approximation fails. In the second example case–control sampling provides the additional information. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Key challenges for enabling agile BPM with social software
Authors: Bruno Giorgio , Dengler Frank , Jennings Ben , Khalaf Rania , Nurcan Selmin , Prilla Michael , Sarini Marcello , Schmidt Rainer , Silva Rito 
Published: February 2011

AbstractBusiness Process Management is called agile when it is able to react quickly and adequately to internal and external events. Agile Business Process Management requires putting the life cycle of business processes on a new paradigm. It is advocated in this paper that social software allows us to satisfy the key requirements for enabling agile BPM by applying the four features of social software: weak ties, social production, egalitarianism and mutual service provision. Organizational and semantic integration and responsiveness (of the business processes engineering, execution and management activities) have been identified as the main requirements for implementing an agile BPM life cycle. Social software may be used in the BPM life cycle in several manners and using numerous approaches. This paper presents seven among them and then analyzes the ‘support’ effects between those approaches and the underlying social software features, and the three requirements for Agile BPM. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Heuristic formulation to predict thermal postbuckling behaviour of square plates on elastic foundation
Authors: Rao G.V. , Rao Ch.S. , Janardhana G.R. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractDevelopment of simple heuristic formulas for complex nonlinear structural analysis problems, such as the postbuckling behaviour of structural members like columns and plates, are very useful for practicing engineers. Such formulas, developed based on the physics of the problem, are available for the aforementioned simple structural members. The advantage is that these formulations can directly be extended to structural members having complicating effects; one such problem is the effect of elastic foundation on the postbuckling behavior of square plates. In this paper, a simple formula is developed, to predict the thermal postbuckling behavior of uniform thin square plates resting on an elastic foundation, subjected to uniform compressive thermal loads (biaxial compression) developed due to the temperature rise from the stress free temperature. The present formulation requires the knowledge of the in plane tensile forces developed in the plate, due to large deflections, when the in plane displacements normal to the edges of the plate are restrained to move axially and the corresponding buckling load. The effectiveness of this formula is established by comparing the present analytical thermal postbuckling results with those obtained from the rigorous nonlinear finite element analysis.
Does Multiracial Matter? A Study of Racial Disparities in Self-Rated Health
Authors: Bratter Jenifer L. , Gorman Bridget K. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractHow do self-identified multiracial adults fit into documented patterns of racial health disparities? We assess whether the health status of adults who view themselves as multiracial is distinctive from that of adults who maintain a single-race identity, by using a seven-year (2001–2007) pooled sample of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). We explore racial differences in self-rated health between whites and several single and multiracial adults with binary logistic regression analyses and investigate whether placing these groups into a self-reported “best race” category alters patterns of health disparities. We propose four hypotheses that predict how the self-rated health status of specific multiracial groups compares with their respective component single-race counterparts, and we find substantial complexity in that no one explanatory model applies to all multiracial combinations. We also find that placing multiracial groups into a single “best race” category likely obscures the pattern of health disparities for selected groups because some multiracial adults (e.g., American Indians) tend to identify with single-race groups whose health experience they do not share.
Heterogeneity in the Strehler-Mildvan General Theory of Mortality and Aging
Authors: Zheng Hui , Yang Yang , Land Kenneth C. 
Published: February 2011

Abstract
This study examines and further develops the classic Strehler-Mildvan (SM) general theory of mortality and aging. Three predictions from the SM theory are tested by examining the age dependence of mortality patterns for 42 countries (including developed and developing countries) over the period 1955–2003. By applying finite mixture regression models, principal component analysis, and random-effects panel regression models, we find that (1) the negative correlation between the initial adulthood mortality rate and the rate of increase in mortality with age derived in the SM theory exists but is not constant; (2) within the SM framework, the implied age of expected zero vitality (expected maximum survival age) also is variable over time; (3) longevity trajectories are not homogeneous among the countries; (4) Central American and Southeast Asian countries have higher expected age of zero vitality than other countries in spite of relatively disadvantageous national ecological systems; (5) within the group of Central American and Southeast Asian countries, a more disadvantageous national ecological system is associated with a higher expected age of zero vitality; and (6) larger agricultural and food productivities, higher labor participation rates, higher percentages of population living in urban areas, and larger GDP per capita and GDP per unit of energy use are important beneficial national ecological system factors that can promote survival. These findings indicate that the SM theory needs to be generalized to incorporate heterogeneity among human populations.
Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the SCL-90-R: A study on a large community sample
Authors: Prunas Antonio , Sarno Irene , Preti Emanuele , Madeddu Fabio , Perugini Marco 
Published: February 2011

AbstractWe present the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Italian version of the SCL-90-R based on a large sample of the Italian population. The sample (N = 3631) included high-school and university students and adults from the community (age range=13–70 yrs; 39.2% males). Principal component analysis (PCA) supported by parallel analysis, yielded eight components, partially overlapping those in the original version; no evidence of Psychoticism and Paranoid Ideation as separate subscales emerged. Twenty-one items were consecutively deleted, leading to a 69-item version of the scale. Internal coherence was good for all subscales (α values between 0.70 and 0.96). However, the eight-factor solution did not prove consistent when analyses were replicated after dividing the sample in subgroups according to gender and age. A second-order PCA yielded a single factor, supporting the adoption of the GSI as an index of general distress. A 69-item brief version of the scale has been empirically derived in this study, and can possibly be adopted as a screening measure for general distress in Italian adults and adolescents; however, caution should be exercised when interpreting the clinical profile due to the instability of factor structure.
Dietary supplementation with hydroxypropyl-distarch phosphate from waxy maize starch increases resting energy expenditure by lowering the postprandial glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide response in human subjects
Authors: Shimotoyodome Akira , Suzuki Junko , Kameo Yoji , Hase Tadashi 
Published: February 2011

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of hydroxypropyl-distarch phosphate (HDP) supplementation on postprandial energy metabolism and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) in human subjects. A total of ten healthy male subjects, with a mean BMI of 23·6 (sem 1·3) kg/m2, age 35·2 (sem 1·9) years and body weight 71·1 (sem 4·0) kg, participated in a randomised, cross-over, intervention study with two different test meals (1673·6 kJ) containing either waxy maize starch or HDP from waxy maize starch (degree of substitution 0·154, P content 0·004 %). Resting energy expenditure (REE) and blood concentrations of various biomarkers were measured at fasting and up to 180 min postprandially. Indirect calorimetry showed that the HDP meal caused higher REE (P < 0·05) and fat utilisation (P < 0·001) than the waxy maize starch meal. The HDP meal led to significantly lower postprandial glucose (P < 0·05), insulin (P < 0·05) and GIP (P < 0·05) responses than the waxy maize starch meal. Both postprandial REE (R − 0·576, P < 0·01) and fat utilisation (R − 0·514, P < 0·05) were negatively correlated with the postprandial GIP response, but not with the glucose and insulin responses. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with HDP lowers postprandial GIP and increases postprandial REE and fat utilisation in healthy humans. An HDP-rich diet may therefore have beneficial implications in weight management. Further studies are required to confirm the efficacy in overweight or obese subjects, and to determine the precise mechanisms.
Common property theory and resource governance institutions: strengthening explanations of multiple outcomes
Authors: AGRAWAL ARUN , BENSON CATHERINE SHANNON 
Published: February 2011

SUMMARYDifferent strategies to govern resource commons generate outcomes that can be assessed along different dimensions, in terms of the ecological or social sustainability of the resource system, contributions to the livelihoods of those who rely on these resources, or equity in the allocation of benefits. This paper reviews the existing literature concerning three major renewable resource commons, namely pasture lands, fisheries and irrigation water. Most existing work on these commons has been inattentive to the multiple outcomes that management of all renewable resources generates. Studies of commons can provide better information about livelihoods, sustainability and equity dimensions of natural resource governance outcomes than previously. Attending to the distinctive determinants and drivers of these outcomes and the nature of trade-offs and synergies among them has the potential to advance common property theory substantially. Possible relationships among livelihoods, sustainability and equity are identified, and the major explanations of outcomes advanced by scholars of fisheries, pastoral and irrigation commons reviewed. An interdisciplinary approach is needed to improve existing efforts to determine the outcomes that resource commons generate.
Expression of ZO-1 and occludin at mRNA and protein level during preimplantation development of the pig parthenogenetic diploids
Authors: Xu Shangdan , Lee Jibak , Miyake Masashi 
Published: February 2011

SummaryExpression of mRNAs and proteins of ZO-1 and occludin was analyzed in pig oocytes and parthenogenetic diploid embryos during preimplantation development using real-time RT-PCR, western blotting and immunocytochemistry. All germinal vesicle (GV) and metaphase (M)II oocytes and preimplantation embryos expressed mRNAs and proteins of ZO-1 and occludin. mRNA levels of both ZO-1 and occludin decreased significantly from GV to MII, but increased at the 2-cell stage followed by temporal decrease during the early and late 4-cell stages. Then, both mRNAs increased after compaction. Relative concentration ofzo1α−was highest in 2-cell embryos, whilezo1α+was expressed from the morula stage.Occludinexpression greatly increased after the morula stage and was highest in expanded blastocysts. Western blotting analysis showed constant expression of ZO-1α−throughout preimplantation development and limited translation of ZO-1α+from the blastocysts, and species-specific expression pattern of occludin. Immunocytochemistry analysis revealed homogeneous distribution of ZO-1 and occludin in the cytoplasm with moderately strong fluorescence in the vicinity of the contact region between blastomeres, around the nuclei in the 2-cell to late 4-cell embryos, and clear network localization along the cell-boundary region in embryos after the morula stage. Present results show that major TJ proteins, ZO-1 and occludin are expressed in oocytes and preimplantation embryos, and that ZO-1α+is transcribed by zygotic gene activation and translated from early blastocysts with prominent increase of occludin at the blastocyst stage.
Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Show Decreased Cognitive Control: Evidence from Dichotic Listening
Authors: Johnsen Grethe E. , Kanagaratnam Pushpa , Asbjørnsen Arve E. 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThe influence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on cognitive control and auditory attention modulation was examined with the use of a dichotic-listening (DL) task. The participants were 45 war-exposed refugees. The PTSD group comprised 22 participants meeting the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD, and the Control group comprised 23 war-exposed participants without PTSD. Both groups were tested with a consonant–vowel syllables DL task under three different attentional instructions. The two groups did not differ in the non-forced and forced-right conditions and showed, as expected, right-ear advantages. The Control group showed, as expected, a left-ear advantage in the forced-left (FL) condition. However, the PTSD group continued to show a right-ear advantage - and only minor modulation of the performance during the FL condition. This finding suggests that PTSD is associated with a reduced capacity for top-down attentional control of a bottom-up or stimulus-driven effect. The result shows that participants with PTSD have impaired cognitive control functions when tested on information processing of neutral stimuli. (JINS, 2011, 17, 344–353)
Activation of the Occipital Cortex and Deactivation of the Default Mode Network During Working Memory in the Early Blind
Authors: Park Hae-Jeong , Chun Ji-Won , Park Bumhee , Park Haeil , Kim Joong Il , Lee Jong Doo , Kim Jae-Jin 
Published: February 2011

AbstractAlthough blind people heavily depend on working memory to manage daily life without visual information, it is not clear yet whether their working memory processing involves functional reorganization of the memory-related cortical network. To explore functional reorganization of the cortical network that supports various types of working memory processes in the early blind, we investigated activation differences between 2-back tasks and 0-back tasks using fMRI in 10 congenitally blind subjects and 10 sighted subjects. We used three types of stimulus sequences: words for a verbal task, pitches for a non-verbal task, and sound locations for a spatial task. When compared to the sighted, the blind showed additional activations in the occipital lobe for all types of stimulus sequences for working memory and more significant deactivation in the posterior cingulate cortex of the default mode network. The blind had increased effective connectivity from the default mode network to the left parieto-frontal network and from the occipital cortex to the right parieto-frontal network during the 2-back tasks than the 0-back tasks. These findings suggest not only cortical plasticity of the occipital cortex but also reorganization of the cortical network for the executive control of working memory. (JINS, 2011, 17, 407–422)