bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A hybrid learning approach to tissue recognition in wound images
Authors: Veredas Francisco J. , Mesa Héctor , Morente Laura 
Published: June 2009

PurposePressure ulcer is a clinical pathology of localized damage to the skin and underlying tissue caused by pressure, shear, and friction. Diagnosis, treatment and care of pressure ulcers involve high costs for sanitary systems. Accurate wound evaluation is a critical task to optimize the efficacy of treatments and health‐care. Clinicians evaluate the pressure ulcers by visual inspection of the damaged tissues, which is an imprecise manner of assessing the wound state. Current computer vision approaches do not offer a global solution to this particular problem. The purpose of this paper is to use a hybrid learning approach based on neural and Bayesian networks to design a computational system to automatic tissue identification in wound images.Design/methodology/approachA mean shift procedure and a region‐growing strategy are implemented for effective region segmentation. Color and texture features are extracted from these segmented regions. A set ofkmulti‐layer perceptrons is trained with inputs consisting of color and texture patterns, and outputs consisting of categorical tissue classes determined by clinical experts. This training procedure is driven by ak‐fold cross‐validation method. Finally, a Bayesian committee machine is formed by training a Bayesian network to combine the classifications of thekneural networks (NNs).FindingsThe authors outcomes show high efficiency rates from a two‐stage cascade approach to tissue identification. Giving a non‐homogeneous distribution of pattern classes, this hybrid approach has shown an additional advantage of increasing the classification efficiency when classifying patterns with relative low frequencies.Practical implicationsThe methodology and results presented in this paper could have important implications to the field of clinical pressure ulcer evaluation and diagnosis.Originality/valueThe novelty associated with this work is the use of a hybrid approach consisting of NNs and Bayesian classifiers which are combined to increase the performance of a pattern recognition task applied to the real clinical problem of tissue detection under non‐controlled illumination conditions.
Fuzzy control with passivity synthesis for continuous affine Takagi‐Sugeno fuzzy systems
Authors: Chang Wen‐Jer , Ku Cheung‐Chieh , Chang Wei 
Published: June 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a stability analysis and control synthesis for achieving passivity properties of a class of continuous‐time nonlinear systems. These nonlinear systems are represented via continuous affine Takagi‐Sugeno (T‐S) fuzzy models, which played an important role in nonlinear control systems. The affine T‐S fuzzy models are more approximate than homogeneous T‐S fuzzy models for modeling nonlinear systems. Using the energy concept of passivity theory with Lyapunov function, the conditions are derived to ensure the passivity and stability of nonlinear systems. Based on the parallel distribution compensation (PDC) technique, this paper proposes a fuzzy controller design approach to achieve the passivity and stability for the continuous affine T‐S fuzzy systems.Design/methodology/approachFor solving stability and stabilization problems of affine T‐S fuzzy models, the conversion techniques and passive theory are employed to derive the stability conditions. By applying the linear matrix inequality technique, a modified iterative linear matrix inequality algorithm is proposed to determine and update the auxiliary variables for finding feasible solutions of these stability conditions.FindingsBy studying the numerical example, the proposed design technique of this paper is an effectiveness and useful approach to design the PDC‐based fuzzy controller. From the simulation results, the considered nonlinear system with external disturbances driven by proposed design fuzzy controller is stable and strictly input passive.Originality/valueThis paper is interesting for designing fuzzy controller to guarantee the stability and strict input passivity of affine T‐S fuzzy models.
From physical to accounting control: a study of accounting change resistance
Authors: Wahyudi Imam 
Published: June 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine an effort by management of a private higher education institution in Indonesia to replace its informal, relationship‐based performance system which relied on physical discourse – overseeing operational details that focus on physical accomplishment of tasks – and personal control by the school head, with a tight budgetary control system which relied on technical efficiency and rational discourse.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is an ethnographic case study of a business school – a private higher education institution in Indonesia – known by its abbreviation as Perbanas Business School (PBS), from 1999 to 2001. The researcher is part of the case being studied, and thus is a “native” who completely participates in the change process.FindingsThe paper demonstrates how a control system change that violates existing cultural norms fails to impact day‐to‐day managerial practices or decision‐making processes. Specifically, in a business school setting, replacing an informal relationship‐based control system with a technical efficiency‐based accounting control system only produces chaotic managerial practices and degrades school services. The new system alienates staff and is not accepted or institutionalized. Instead, in daily managerial processes, management continue to rely on informal and personal relationships.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper contributes to the accounting literature by studying the process of instituting accounting change and organizational participants' resistance to that change.Originality/valueOrganizational culture, reflected in values, norms of behavior and everyday practices, cannot easily be controlled or changed by chief executive officers.
A case study of the performance management system in a Malaysian government linked company
Authors: Norhayati M.A. , Siti‐Nabiha A.K. 
Published: June 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain the institutionalization process of the performance management system (PMS) in a Malaysian government‐linked company (GLC). The study specifically looks at the changes brought by the GLC transformation programme introduced by the government.Design/methodology/approachAn explanatory case study method is used whereby data are collected through semi structured interviews, document reviews, informal conversations and observations.FindingsDespite attempts to link the organisational activities to the system through the business operating plan, the data reveal that the PMS‐related activities have somehow been viewed as a routine mechanism for appraising the employees' performances and become decoupled from the organisational activities. Thus, the new PMS did not really change the way organisational members view and do things in the organisation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study shows that the intention to institutionalise a new practice may not be materialised if there are not enough forces to support the change. The adoption of the new PMS practices may be due to isomorphic pressures to mimic other organisations in the same environmental field leading to ceremonial adoption of the practice.Originality/valueThis research provides evidence to the government that the process involved in transforming the organisational culture of a government‐linked organisation by using accounting tools might be time consuming, costly and subject to resistance. Hence, any change management programme introduced in a government‐linked organisation should have strong top management support, good financial standing as well as a reliable technical backup to the programme.
Feasibility and validity of low‐budget telephonic follow‐up interviews in routine outcome monitoring of substance abuse treatment
Authors: Oudejans Suzan C.C. , Schippers Gerardus M. , Merkx Maarten J.M. , Schramade Mark H. , Koeter Maarten W.J. , Van Den Brink Wim 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACTAims  Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) is receiving growing attention. However, follow‐up interviews are time‐consuming and costly. This study examines the feasibility and validity of low‐budget telephonic follow‐up interviews for ROM in a substance abuse treatment centre (SATC).Design  Observational study using data collected for routine outcome monitoring.Setting  The study was performed in a SATC in an urban area in the Netherlands.Participants  Feasibility and validity were assessed on data of 2325 patients.Measurements  Data on pre‐treatment socio‐demographic and clinical characteristics were collected using electronic patient records (EPRs) and the European version of the Addiction Severity Index (EuropASI). Data on intensity of treatment were also collected through the EPRs. Telephonic follow‐up interviews were conducted between 9 and 10 months after intake.Findings  A 53% follow‐up rate was achieved; 35% of the patients could not be contacted, 3% explicitly refused and in 8% other reasons accounted for non‐participation. About 50% of the interviews took place in the intended time‐frame. Costs were €40 ($57) per completed interview. There were indications of selection bias, because patients with cocaine as their primary problem and patients with polysubstance abuse were under‐represented in the follow‐up sample; the presence of these disorders is associated with negative treatment outcome.Conclusions  Implementing telephonic low‐budget follow‐up interviews for ROM is feasible, but selection bias threatens internal validity of data, limiting generalization to the total treatment population. Increased efforts to track patients for follow‐up may improve generalization.
Comparing retention in treatment and mortality in people after initial entry to methadone and buprenorphine treatment
Authors: Bell James , Trinh Lieu , Butler Bethany , Randall Deborah , Rubin George 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACTAim  To compare retention in treatment and mortality among people entering methadone and buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence.Data sources  The Pharmaceutical Drugs of Abuse System (PHDAS) database records start‐ and end‐dates of all episodes of methadone and buprenorphine treatment in New South Wales, and the National Death Index (NDI) records all reported deaths.Methods  Data linkage study. First entrants to treatment between June 2002 and June 2006 were identified from the PHDAS database. Retention in treatment was compared between methadone and buprenorphine. Names were linked to the NDI database, and ‘good matches’ were identified. Deaths were classified as occurring during induction, maintenance and either post‐methadone or post‐buprenorphine, depending on the latest episode of treatment prior to death. The numbers of inductions into treatment, of total person‐years spent in each treatment, and person‐years post‐methadone or buprenorphine, were calculated. Risk of death in different periods, and different treatments, was analysed using Poisson regression.Results  A total of 5992 people entered their first episode of treatment—3349 (56%) on buprenorphine, 2643 on methadone. Median retention was significantly longer in methadone (271 days) than buprenorphine (40 days). During induction, the risk of death was lower for buprenorphine (relative risk = 0.114, 95% confidence interval = 0.002–0.938, P = 0.02, Fisher's exact test). Risk of death was lowest during treatment, significantly higher in the first 12 months after leaving both methadone and buprenorphine. Beyond 12 months after leaving treatment, risk of death was non‐significantly higher than during treatment.Conclusions  Buprenorphine was safer during induction. Despite shorter retention in treatment, buprenorphine maintenance was not associated with higher risk of death.
Genetic and physiological determinants ofStreptomyces scabiespathogenicity
Authors: LERAT SYLVAIN , SIMAO‐BEAUNOIR ANNE‐MARIE , BEAULIEU CAROLE 
Published: June 2009

SUMMARYCommon scab is a severe disease worldwide affecting tap root crops and potato tubers. It is caused by soil‐borne filamentous bacteria belonging to the genusStreptomyces. Streptomycetes usually are saprophytic microorganisms, but a few species have acquired the ability to infect underground plant tissues. The predominant causal agent of potato scab worldwide isStreptomyces scabies. The production of phytotoxins called thaxtomins is essential for the virulence of common scab‐causing agents. The genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of thaxtomins and other virulence genes are clustered on a large pathogenicity island. The pathogenicity island can be mobilized and transferred to nonpathogenic relatives, leading to the emergence of new pathogenic streptomycetes. In most pathogenicStreptomycesspecies, thaxtomin A is the predominant form found. The regulation of thaxtomin A synthesis is complex. Although the plant‐derived compound cellobiose is now recognized as the inducer of thaxtomin A synthesis at a genetic level, other molecules (including aromatic amino acids and some secondary metabolites) show inhibitory effects on the production of the toxin. This paper is an overview of common scab with a focus onS. scabiesand its virulence mechanisms.Taxonomy:Streptomyces scabies(Thaxt.) Lambert and Loria; Kingdom Bacteria; Phylum Actinobacteria; Class Actinomycetes; Order Actinomycetales; Family Streptomycetaceae; genusStreptomyces; speciesscabiesorscabiei.Host range:Streptomyces scabies(syn.S. scabiei) has a broad host range comprising tuber vegetables and most tap root crops.Streptomyces scabiescauses common scab on potato (Solanum tuberosum), beet (Beta vulgaris), carrot (Daucus carota), parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), radish (Raphanus sativus), rutabaga (Brassica napobrassica) and turnip (Brassica rapa).Disease symptoms:Common scab symptoms appear as randomly distributed shallow, raised or deep‐pitted corky lesions. Their size and colour are quite variable, but lesions typically are brown with a diameter of a few millimetres. No above‐ground symptoms disclose the presence of the disease as aerial tissues of scab‐infected plants remain healthy.Streptomyces scabiesalso inhibits the growth of seedlings in monocot and dicot plants.Useful websites:http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Projects/S_scabies,http://www.potatodiseases.org/scab.html,http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/potatoscab.html
The pharyngeal mucosa is not involved in eosinophilic oesophagitis
Authors: BOVE M. , TEGTMEYER B. , PERSSON S. , BERGQUIST H. 
Published: June 2009

SummaryBackground  Eosinophilic oesophagitis is thought to be an isolated oesophageal disease associated with biopsy‐verified eosinophilia of the squamous cell epithelium of the oesophagus. Food‐ or aeroallergens have been suggested to be the cause of eosinophilic oesophagitis; however, as these allergens pass through the pharynx sharing the same squamous cell epithelium, eosinophilic infiltration could be expected also here. Whether this is true or not has hitherto not been clarified.Aim  To find out whether eosinophilia is present also within the pharyngeal epithelium in patients with eosinophilic oesophagitis.Methods  In all, 10 patients (median age 34, range 15–70) with biopsy‐verified eosinophilic oesophagitis [peak count >20 eosinophils per high power field (hpf)] were biopsied also in the pharynx. The biopsies underwent histopathological examination and at each level, the peak number of eosinophils per hpf was counted.Results  None of the patients examined was found to have eosinophilia within the squamous cell epithelium of the pharynx (median peak count 0, range 0–1).Conclusions  The pronounced eosinophilic infiltration in eosinophilic oesophagitis appears to be an isolated oesophageal phenomenon not shared by the adjoining organ sites and in particular, not by the pharynx. This may have implications for future research.
Basin evolution, diagenesis and uranium mineralization in the Paleoproterozic Thelon Basin, Nunavut, Canada
Authors: Hiatt Eric E. , Palmer Sarah E. , Kurt Kyser T. , O'Connor Terrence K. 
Published: June 2009

ABSTRACTThe Paleoproterozoic (Statherian) Thelon Basin is located in the Churchill Province of the Canadian Shield, formed following the Trans‐Hudson Orogeny. Basin formation followed an interval of felsic volcanism and weathering of underlying bedrock. The diagenetic evolution of the Thelon lasted about one billion years and was punctuated by fluid movement influenced by tectonic events. Early quartz cements formed in well‐sorted, quartz‐rich facies during diagenetic stage 1; fluids in which these overgrowths formed had δ18O values near 0‰ (Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water). Uranium‐rich apatite cement (P1) also formed during diagenetic stage 1 indicating that oxygenated, uranium‐bearing pore water was present in the basin early in its diagenetic history. Syntaxial quartz cement (Q1) formed in water with δ18O from −4 to −0.8‰ in diagenetic stage 2. Diagenetic stage 3 occurred when the Thelon Formation was at ca. 5 km depth, and was marked by extensive illitization, alteration of detrital grains, and uranium mineralization. Basin‐wide, illite crystallized at ∼200 °C by fluids with δ18O values of 5–9‰ and δD values of −60 to −31‰, consistent with evolved basinal brines. Tectonism caused by the accretion of Nena at ca. 1600 Ma may have provided the mechanism for brine movement during deep burial. Diagenetic stage 4 is associated with fracturing and emplacement of mafic dikes at ca. 1300 Ma, quartz cement (Q3) in fractures and vugs, further illitization, and recrystallization of uraninite (U2). Q3 cements have fluid inclusions that suggest variable salinities, δ18O values of 1.5–9‰, and δD values of −97 to −83‰ for stage 4 brines. K‐feldspar and Mg‐chlorite formed during diagenetic stage 5 at ca. 1000 Ma in upper stratigraphic sequences, and in the west. These phases precipitated from low‐temperature, isotopically distinct fluids. Their distribution indicates that the basin hydrostratigraphy remained partitioned for >600 Ma.
Measuring stream macroinvertebrate responses to gradients of vegetation cover: when is enough enough?
Authors: DEATH RUSSELL G. , COLLIER KEVIN J. 
Published: June 2009

Summary1. Management of stream biodiversity is often tightly linked with the restoration and protection of riparian and catchment vegetation. Despite that, there are no established guidelines on how much forest should be retained or replanted in riparian zones and surrounding catchments to maintain or re‐establish instream ecological integrity. In this study, we assess relationships between vegetation cover at multiple spatial scales (reach, segment and catchment) and macroinvertebrate metrics that reflect community structure, ecological condition and biodiversity at 138 Waikato, New Zealand, stream sites sampled in 2006.2. Percentage of catchment vegetation in native forest had stronger relationships with measured diversity and condition metrics than segment or reach scale measures of riparian vegetation. Functional feeding group metrics were weakly associated with upstream catchment vegetation cover.3. Of the macroinvertebrate metrics tested, the RIVPAC O/E and an organic pollution tolerance metric based on species presence–absence (Macroinvertebrate Community Index; MCI) had the strongest relationships with percentage native riparian vegetation, followed by the quantitative MCI and measures of the richness and relative abundance of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera faunas. The O/E and MCI indicated that catchments with 80–90% in native forest or scrub (low‐growing trees) were associated with faunas indicative of “clean” water quality.4. Of the biodiversity indices considered Fisher’s α Index of species richness had the strongest relationship with percent native riparian vegetation in the upstream catchment. There are no established thresholds for measuring biodiversity loss in New Zealand streams, but this analysis indicates that on average streams draining catchments with 40–60% upstream native vegetation cover retain 80% of the mean biodiversity present in pristine forest streams.5. This research indicates that riparian management aimed at enhancing macroinvertebrate biodiversity and the ecological condition of streams is likely to be more successful when focused on protecting and/or restoring headwater catchments rather than short stretches of stream.
Metabolic level and size scaling of rates of respiration and growth in unicellular organisms
Authors: Glazier Douglas S. 
Published: June 2009

Summary 1. Metabolic rate is conventionally assumed to scale with body mass to the 3/4‐power, independently of the metabolic level of the organisms being considered. However, recent analyses in a variety of animals and plants indicate that the power (log–log slope) of this relationship varies significantly with metabolic level, ranging from c. 2/3 to 1. 2. Here I show that the scaling slopes of rates of respiration and growth are related to the metabolic level of a variety of unicellular organisms, as similarly occurs for respiration rates in multicellular organisms. 3. The recently proposed ‘metabolic‐level boundaries hypothesis’ provides insight into these effects of metabolic level. As predicted, the scaling slopes for resting (endogenous) respiration rate in prokaryotes, algae and protozoans are negatively related to metabolic level; and in protozoans, the scaling slope increases with starvation. Also as predicted, the scaling slopes of growth rate in algae and protozoans are negatively related to growth level. Unexpectedly, opposite effects of starvation on the metabolic scaling slopes of unicellular prokaryotes (compared to that of eukaryotes) may be a spurious result of respiration measurements that did not adequately consider the effects of rapid cell multiplication in prokaryotes with extremely short generation times. 4. Analyses of both unicellular and multicellular organisms show that there is no universal metabolic scaling relationship, and that variation in metabolic scaling relationships is systematically and possibly universally related to metabolic level.
Distribution of the introduced cyprinid herpesvirus 3 in a wild population of common carp, Cyprinus carpio L.
Authors: Uchii K , Matsui K , Iida T , Kawabata Z 
Published: June 2009

AbstractCyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV‐3), which causes a lethal disease in common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., and koi, C. carpio koi, first occurred in Lake Biwa, Japan in 2004. To elucidate distribution of CyHV‐3 in a wild common carp population, we conducted a PCR survey of CyHV‐3 among such fish in Lake Biwa in 2006. Only 6% (1/18) of the common carp smaller than 300 mm were positive with PCR, whereas 31% (18/58) of fish larger than 300 mm were positive. To evaluate their past exposure to CyHV‐3 infection based on the presence of antibodies, we also measured the levels of serum anti‐CyHV‐3 antibodies in the carp, using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. None (0/26) of the fish smaller than 300 mm was positive for the antibodies, whereas 54% (33/61) of fish larger than 300 mm were positive. Of the antibody‐positive individuals, 44% (14/32) were also positive by PCR strongly suggesting that wild common carp that survived infection become CyHV‐3 carriers. Five individuals were positive by PCR but negative for antibodies indicating that their infection with CyHV‐3 had occurred recently. These results suggest that transmission of CyHV‐3 from carriers to naïve common carp is still occurring in Lake Biwa.