bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Enabling CAIV through Design, Modularity, and Program Management
Authors: DOERRY NORBERT 
Published: April 2009

AbstractMany naval ship acquisition programs have not been able to effectively implement cost as an independent variable (CAIV). With a CAIV approach, operational requirements provided by the customer are given in terms of threshold and objective values. The range between these two values provides the program manager with trade‐space to match the available funds with the capabilities that can be bought for that amount—the total program cost remains a constant. In practice though, much of the final cost of an acquisition program is fixed early in the design process through basic design decisions on architecture and the allocation of operational requirements and derived requirements to systems. Unfortunately, while much of the cost is determined early in the design process, estimating that cost to any degree of certainty is nearly impossible. As the costs of the program are better understood, the remaining design flexibility to adjust to increasing costs may not be sufficient to enable the program manager time to take corrective action when the cost estimates indicate a possible problem. This paper describes the techniques, including the use of modularity, cost contingencies, and set‐based design, to provide the program manager with sufficient flexibility to implement CAIV. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and are not necessarily official policy of the US Navy or any other organization. The intent of this paper is to foster dialogue to gain a better understanding of how to develop an acquisition strategy and systems engineering strategy to enable CAIV.
Medicago truncatula‐derived calcium oxalate crystals have a negative impact on chewing insect performance via their physical properties
Authors: Park Sang‐Hyuck , Doege Sarah J. , Nakata Paul A. , Korth Kenneth L. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractPlant structural traits often act as defenses against herbivorous insects, causing them to avoid feeding on a given plant or tissue. Mineral crystals of calcium oxalate in Medicago truncatula Gaertn. (Fabaceae) leaves have previously been shown to be effective deterrents of lepidopteran insect feeding. They are also inhibitors of conversion of plant material into insect body mass during or after consumption. Growth of beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), larvae was correspondingly greater on calcium oxalate‐defective (cod) mutants of M. truncatula with lower levels of crystal accumulation. Data presented here show that insects feeding on M. truncatula leaves with calcium oxalate crystals experience greater negative effects on growth and mandible wear than those feeding on artificial diet amended with smaller amorphous crystals from commercial preparations. Commercial calcium oxalate can be added to insect artificial diet at levels up to 7.5‐fold higher than levels found in wild‐type M. truncatula leaves with minimal effect on insect growth or lepidopteran mandibles. These data suggest that negative impacts of calcium oxalate in the diet of larvae are due to physical factors, and not toxicity of the compound, as high levels of the commercial crystals are readily tolerated. In contrast to the dramatic physical effects that M. truncatula‐derived crystals have on insect mandibles, we could detect no damage to insect peritrophic gut membranes due to consumption of these crystals. Taken together, the data indicate that the size and shape of prismatic M. truncatula oxalate crystals are important factors in determining effects on insect growth. If manipulation of calcium oxalate is to be used in developing improved insect resistance in plants, then our findings suggest that controlling not only the overall amount, but also the size and shape of crystals, could be valuable traits in selecting desirable plant lines.
Context‐dependent transmission of a generalist plant pathogen: host species and pathogen strain mediate insect vector competence
Authors: Lopes João R. S. , Daugherty Matthew P. , Almeida Rodrigo P. P. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe specificity of pathogen–vector–host interactions is an important element of disease epidemiology. For generalist pathogens, different pathogen strains, vector species, or host species may all contribute to variability in disease incidence. One such pathogen is Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al., a xylem‐limited bacterium that infects dozens of crop, ornamental, and native plants in the USA. This pathogen also has a diverse vector complex and multiple biologically distinct strains. We studied the implications of diversity in this pathogen–vector–host system, by quantifying variability in transmission efficiency of different X. fastidiosa strains (isolates from almond and grape genetic groups) for different host plants (grape, almond, and alfalfa) by two of the most important vectors in California: glassy‐winged sharpshooter [Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar)] and green sharpshooter (Draeculacephala minerva Ball) (both Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). Transmission of isolates of the almond strain by H. vitripennis did not differ significantly, whereas transmission varied significantly among isolates from the grape strain (15–90%). Host plant species did not affect H. vitripennis transmission. Conversely, D. minerva efficiency was mediated by both host plant species and pathogen strain. No acquisition of an almond isolate occurred regardless of plant type (0/122), whereas acquisition of a grape isolate from alfalfa was 10‐fold higher than from grape or almond plants. These results suggest that pathogen, vector, and host diversity impose contingencies on the transmission ecology of this complex disease system. Studies aimed at the development of management strategies for X. fastidiosa diseases should consider the complexity of these interactions as they relate to disease spread.
A study of a method for distribution analysis of skin color
Authors: Ha Seunghan , Lee Minhee , Lee Onseok , Lee Gunwoo , Kim Jeayoung , Moon Jongsub , Kim Mingi , Oh Chilhwan 
Published: April 2009

Background/aims: The objective and quantitative assessment of the skin is important in medical and cosmeceutical research. Assessment of color is an important element for analyzing the surface of the skin, which is usually determined subjectively by a doctor or using color analysis devices. These devices, however, cannot provide correct color information because color is construed from the mean value of the observation region, and analysis of color distribution is impossible. The purpose of this paper is to develop an objective analysis method to permit skin color measurement of each pixel unit of an image and analyze the distribution of skin surface color.Methods: The Skin Color Distribution Analyzer (SCDA) is an analysis method newly developed at the Research Institute for Skin Image at Korea University. The SCDA system presented in this paper performed a novel form of quantitative and objective analysis of skin color distribution using each pixel color model parameter found in image wavelength information.In this paper, distribution analysis was conducted on normal skin and skin lesions and skin affected by artificially induced irritant contact dermatitis and pigmented nevous. The method selected a grade using a color model parameter. Twenty healthy Korean males participated in this study. A comparative study of the eight anatomical areas was performed, including the exposure and non‐exposure parts and the medial aspect and the lateral aspect of the forearm. A reliability test for the SCDA system was also conducted with a spectrometer (SPEC) using the color analysis method.Results: Each skin lesion was precisely segmented by grade and each parameter hada different statistical significance for results of analysis of distribution in pigmented nevous and the artificially induced irritant contact dermatitis. Parameters L*, b*, a*, and EI showed salient traits. Showed resemble measured result in the SCDA system and the SPEC of normal skin. The exposed site, in comparison with the non‐exposed site, showed a notable difference in the L* parameter and a significant statistical difference in the x and z parameters, except b*. The comparison of the medial and lateral aspects of the forearm showed a notable difference in the L* parameter and a significant statistical difference in the parameters except y and b*. In the reliability test result using the SCDA system and the SPEC, the SCDA system was highly reliabile in terms of the CV value in all color model parameters.Conclusions: The color distribution analysis method using the SCDA system has revealed an aspect that the existent method of medical research has not shown, and is considered to be more reliable than other methods. This method can provide better study findings because it can be applied to other fields in addition to the medical science field and the ripple effect is thought to be bigger in other science field too.
A pilot study of the association between cariogenic oral bacteria and preterm birth*
Authors: Durand R , Gunselman EL , Hodges JS , DiAngelis AJ , Michalowicz BS 
Published: April 2009

Objectives:  We examined the associations between preterm birth and low birth weight and maternal caries history, maternal periodontal status, and salivary levels of mutans streptococci and Lactobacilli.Design:  This study was a matched case–control study in women during their pregnancy or up to 8 weeks after delivery.Subjects and methods:  Thirty‐four women delivering before 37 weeks gestation were recruited along with 73 term controls matched for age and race/ethnicity. Demographic and obstetric information was collected from questionnaires and medical records and oral examinations along with commercial salivary tests were completed within the study groups.Main outcome measures:  The main outcome variables were the preterm birth and low birth weight status. The independent variables measured were the salivary levels of Lactobacilli and mutans streptococci and the caries and periodontal status of the subjects.Results:  The odds ratio comparing low levels of bacteria in preterm mothers and controls was statistically significant for Lactobacilli (odds ratio (OR) = 3.45, 95% confidence interval (CI)  = 1.27 to 10.00) and almost significant for mutans streptococci (OR = 2.63, 95% CI = 0.95 to 8.33). Clinical caries and periodontal disease measures did not differ significantly between groups.Conclusion:  Within the limitation of our study, low levels of Lactobacilli in saliva were found to be associated with preterm birth.
Child abuse and dental neglect: the dental team’s role in identification and prevention
Authors: Nuzzolese E , Lepore MM , Montagna F , Marcario V , De Rosa S , Solarino B , Di Vella G 
Published: April 2009

Abstract:  Health, education and social services are placing increasing emphasis on preventing abuse and neglect by early intervention to support families where children and young people may be at risk. Dental hygienist and dental assistants, like all other health professionals, can have a part in recognizing and preventing children from those who would cause them harm. They should be aware of the warning signs, recognizing what to consider as abuse or dental neglect and know how to deal with these young patients, and to fulfil their legal and ethical obligation to report suspected cases.The purpose of this report is to review the oral and dental aspects of child abuse and dental neglect thus helping the dental team in detecting such conditions. In particular, this report addresses the evaluation of bite marks as well as perioral and intraoral injuries, infections, early childhood caries and diseases that may be indicative of child abuse or neglect.Emphasis is placed on an appropriate protocol to follow in the dental practice to best treat and protect children who may have suffered abuse, helping the team in the diagnosis and documentation.
Gingival recession: epidemiology and risk indicators in a university dental hospital in Turkey
Authors: Toker H , Ozdemir H 
Published: April 2009

Abstract:  Objective:  Gingival recession is a common manifestation of periodontal disease, but is also associated with several risk factors. In this study, we investigated prevalence of gingival recession and assessed various risk indicators in a university dental hospital in Turkey.Materials and methods:  The study group consisted of 831 persons (537 females, 294 males). Gingival recession, dental plaque, calculus, tobacco consumption, toothbrushing frequency, traumatic toothbrushing and high frenum were assessed. Gingival recession scored as present whenever the free gingival margin was apical to the cemento‐enamel junction and root surface was exposed.Results:  Overall, the prevalence of gingival recession was 78.2%. The gingival recession for buccal surfaces measured approximately between 1 and 2 mm was 17.4%. The number of gingival recession site of male subjects was significantly higher than that of the female ones (P < 0.05). The dental calculus and plaque levels of mandibular teeth were significantly higher than those of the maxillary teeth (P < 0.05). The multiple regression analyses showed that age, smoking duration, traumatic toothbrushing and high frenum are significant contributors to gingival recession.Conclusions:  Periodontal condition is very high in this population. High level of gingival recession in this population is significantly associated with a high level of dental plaque and calculus, male gender, smoking duration, toothbrushing frequency, traumatic toothbrushing and high frenum.
An index of functional diversity
Authors: Mason Norman W.H. , MacGillivray Kit , Steel John B. , Wilson J. Bastow 
Published: April 2009

Abstract. Functional diversity has been seen as the key to predicting the stability, invasibility, resource capture, nutrient cycling and productivity of communities. However, it has been unclear how to estimate it. Ten criteria for an index of functional diversity are developed. These include that it should reflect the range of characters present and the abundance of the species with those characters in the community, and be unaffected by the measurement units used or by the number of species.An index that meets all ten criteria, FDvar, is investigated. It is based on the variance in characters, weighted by the abundance of the species with those characters. Tested with artificial and randomly generated data, it showed reasonable use of the 0 ‐ 1 range (mean 0.60, range 0.0009 ‐ 0.975) and intuitive behaviour. Tested with field data from eight sites in New Zealand, it gave a good spread of values (mean 0.65, range across sites 0.34 ‐ 0.84), showed good ability to distinguish between the communities and its performance was ecologically intuitive. Illustrative correlations are made with mean annual temperature and soil fertility, determined by a bio‐assay. FDvar is recommended for general use.
Properties of ecotones: Evidence from five ecotones objectively determined from a coastal vegetation gradient
Authors: Walker Susan , Wilson J. Bastow , Steel John B. , Rapson G.L. , Smith Benjamin , King Warren McG. , Cottam Yvette H. 
Published: April 2009

Abstract. Several properties have been suggested to be characteristic of ecotones, but their prevalence has rarely been tested. We sampled five ecotones to seek evidence on seven generalizations that are commonly made about ecotones: vegetational sharpness, physiognomic change, occurrence of a spatial community mosaic, many exotic species, ecotonal species, spatial mass effect, and species richness higher or lower than either side of the ecotone.The ecotones were in a sequence from scattered mangroves, through salt marsh, rush‐marsh, scrub, woodland, to pasture. We developed a method to objectively define, by rapid vegetational change, the position and depth of an ecotone, identifying five ecotones. Their positions were consistent across three sampling schemes and two spatial grain sizes. One ecotone is a switch ecotone, produced by positive feedback between community and environment. Another is anthropogenic, due to clearing for agriculture. Two others are probably environmental in cause, and one may be largely a relict environmental ecotone.Sharp changes in species composition occurred. Three ecotones were associated with a change in plant physiognomy. In two, the ecotone was located just outside a woodland canopy, in the zone influenced by the canopy. Community mosaicity was evident at only one ecotone. There were few strictly ecotonal species; many species occurred more frequently within ecotones than in adjacent vegetation, but there were never significantly more ecotonal species than expected at random. There was little evidence for the spatial mass effect reducing ecotonal sharpness, or leading to higher species richness within ecotones. Species richness was higher than in the adjacent habitat in only one ecotone.It seems that supposedly characteristic ecotone features depend on the particular ecological situation, and the ecology of the species present, rather than being intrinsic properties of ecotones.
Formalized reproduction of an expert‐based phytosociological classification: A case study of subalpine tall‐forb vegetation
Authors: Kočí Martin , Chytrý Milan , Tichý Lubomír 
Published: April 2009

Abstract. Delimitation of vegetation units in phytosociology is traditionally based on expert knowledge. Applications of expert‐based classifications are often inconsistent because criteria for assigning relevés to vegetation units are seldom given explicitly. Still, there is, e.g. in nature conservation, an increasing need for a consistent application of vegetation classification using computer expert systems for unit identification.We propose a procedure for formalized reproduction of an expert‐based vegetation classification, which is applicable to large phytosociological data sets. This procedure combines Bruelheide's Cocktail method with a similarity‐based assignment of relevés to constancy columns of a vegetation table. As a test of this method we attempt to reproduce the expert‐based phytosociological classification of subalpine tall‐forb vegetation of the Czech Republic which has been made by combination of expert judgement and stepwise numerical classification of 718 relevés by TWINSPAN. Applying the Cocktail method to a geographically stratified data set of 21794 relevés of all Czech vegetation types, we defined groups of species with the statistical tendency of joint occurrences in vegetation. Combinations of 12 of these species groups by logical operators AND, OR and AND NOT yielded formal definitions of 14 of 16 associations which had been accepted in the expert‐based classification. Application of these formal definitions to the original data set of 718 relevés resulted in an assignment of 376 relevés to the associations. This assignment agreed well with the original expert‐based classification. Relevés that remained un‐assigned because they had not met the requirements of any of the formal definitions, were subsequently assigned to the associations by calculating similarity to relevé groups that had already been assigned to the associations. A new index, based on frequency and fidelity, was proposed for calculating similarity. The agreement with the expert‐based classification achieved by the formal definitions was still improved after applying the similarity‐based assignment. Results indicate that the expert‐based classification can be successfully formalized and converted into a computer expert system.
BOOK REVIEWS
Authors: Greenland D. 
Published: April 2009

Book reviewed in this article:Berdowski, J.; Guicherit, R. & Heij, B. 2001. The Climate System. vi + 178 pp. A.A. Balkema Publishers, Lisse, The Netherlands. ISBN 90 5809 255 0 (hardbound). Price: USD 54.00.
Demography of the long‐lived conifer Agathis ovata in maquis and rainforest, New Caledonia
Authors: Enright N.J. , Miller B.P. , Perry G.L.W. 
Published: April 2009

Abstract. The endemic New Caledonian conifer Agathis ovata occurs as an emergent tree in fire‐prone shrublands (maquis), and fire‐sensitive rainforest. Growth, survivorship and recruitment over 5 yr were compared for populations from forest and maquis on ultramafic substrates in New Caledonia to investigate whether demographic behaviour varied in response to the strongly contrasting forest and shrubland environments.Growth of seedlings and of small (30–100 cm height) and large (100 cm height; 5 cm DBH) saplings was slow, but varied significantly among stages, site types and years. The greatest difference in growth rates was among stages, seedlings growing 0.34 cm.yr−1, small saplings 1.06 cm.yr−1 and large saplings 2.13 cm.yr−1. Tree DBH increased by only 0.05 cm.yr−1 and, based on these rates, individuals with DBH of 30 cm are estimated to be more than 700 yr old. Few trees (3.5%) produced cones in any year and seedling recruitment was low, but some recruitment was recorded each year in both maquis and forest. Rates of recruitment per parent were highest in forest (1.28.yr−1, cf 0.78.yr−1), but the higher density of trees in maquis meant that overall recruitment was greater there (92 ha−1.yr−1, cf 56 ha−1.yr−1). Seedling mortality ranged from 0.9 to 2.9% among years with no significant difference between maquis and forest. No sapling mortality was recorded, but annual tree mortality ranged from 0 to 1.4%. Evidence from a recently burned site indicated that while trees may survive fire, seedlings and saplings do not. Post‐fire seedling recruitment per ha from surviving trees was four times lower than in unburned sites, but growth rates were four times higher.Similar demographic attributes, including high survivorship, low growth rate and low rates of recruitment over a long reproductive life, characterize Agathis ovata populations in both maquis and rainforest in New Caledonia and are indicative of a broad tolerance of light environments that is unusual among tree species. These demographic attributes help to explain the long‐term persistence of the species in these strongly contrasting habitats.
Measuring the effects of human impact on vegetation by integrating phytosociology and remote sensing in a fuzzy set approach
Authors: Feoli Enrico , Ganis Paola , Ortolan Irene , Sitoni Daniel , Zerihun Woldu 
Published: April 2009

Abstract. The response of fragmented vegetation to human impact has been analysed in degraded and degrading areas in Tanzania (Lake Manyara). Phytosociology was integrated with GIS and remote sensing data as follows: (1) a land cover/land use map was obtained by analysing remote sensing data and conducting field verification; (2) phytosociological relevés were randomly sampled in woodland vegetation patches using the map; (3) the pattern of land cover/land use around the relevés was described; (4) gradients of land use intensity (human impact) were obtained based on the descriptions; (5) the response of vegetation types to impacts of gradients was calculated using fuzzy set theory.Two complementary gradients of human impact were defined based on land cover/land use analysis of the remotely sensed data: one related to cultivation intensity and the other to grazing intensity. Response functions of vegetation types (defined by numerical classification) to these gradients demonstrated that the vegetation types are strongly related to the degree of human impact and that the corresponding vegetation patches show different degrees of permeability to the species of the surrounding landscape.