bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Historical development of health technology assessment in Thailand
Authors: Teerawattananon Yot , Tantivess Sripen , Yothasamut Jomkwan , Kingkaew Pritaporn , Chaisiri Kakanang 
Published: June 2009

Objectives: This study aims to review the development of health technology assessment (HTA), including the socioeconomic context, outputs, and policy utilization in the Thai setting.Methods: This study was conducted through extensive document reviews including these published in both domestic and international literature.Results: Evidence suggests that contextual elements of the health system, especially the country's economic status and health financing reforms, as well as their effects on government budgeting for medical and public health services, played an important role in the increasing needs and demands for HTA information among policy makers. In the midst of substantial economic growth during the years 1982 to 1996, several studies reported the rapid diffusion and poor distribution of health technologies, and inequitable access to high-cost technology in public and private hospitals. At the same time, economic analysis and its underpinning concept of efficiency were suggested by groups of scholars and health officials to guide national policy on the investment in health technology equipment. Related research and training programs were subsequently launched. However, none of these HTA units could be institutionalized into national bodies. From 1997 to 2005, an economic recession, followed by the introduction of a universal health coverage plan, triggered the demands for effective measures for cost containment and prioritization of health interventions. This made policy makers and researchers at the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) pay increasing attention to economic appraisals, and several HTA programs were established in the Ministry. Despite the rising number of Thai health economic publications, a major problem at that period involved the poor quality of studies. Since 2006, economic recovery and demands from different interests to include expensive technologies in the public health benefit package have been crucial factors promoting the role of HTA in national policy decisions. Meanwhile, HTA capacity has been strengthened through the establishment of many health economic and HTA initiatives. An illustration of the work and contributions of the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP) is provided. In this phase, HTA policy integration has been enhanced through different mechanisms and organizations.Conclusion: Over the past two decades a notable progression has been made in relation to the capacity building of HTA research and its policy utility in Thailand. Such development has been shaped by multiple factors. It is anticipated that experience gained among academics, health officials, and civil society organizations will be helpful not only in sustaining the momentum but also in improving formal HTA systems in the future.
Health technology assessment in Mexico
Authors: Gómez-Dantés Octavio , Frenk Julio 
Published: June 2009

Objectives:The history of health technology assessment (HTA) in Mexico is examined, starting with the efforts to incorporate this topic into the policy agenda and culminating with the recent creation of a specialized public agency.Methods:Information was gathered through a bibliographic search and interviews with actors involved in HTA in Mexico.Results:HTA efforts were developed in Mexico since the mid-1980s with the participation both of academics and of policy makers, a relationship that eventually led to the creation of the Center for Technological Excellence within the Ministry of Health.Conclusions:Institutionalization of HTA in resource-constrained settings requires the development of a critical mass of researchers involved in this field, the implementation of information efforts, and the establishment of strong relationships between HTA experts and policy makers.
Cyclotomic units and class groups in p-extensions of real abelian fields
Authors: NUCCIO FILIPPO ALBERTO EDOARDO 
Published: June 2009

AbstractFor a real abelian number field F and for a prime p we study the relation between the p-parts of the class groups and of the quotients of global units modulo cyclotomic units along the cyclotomic p-extension of F. Assuming Greenberg's conjecture about the vanishing of the λ-invariant of the extension, a map between these groups has been constructed by several authors, and shown to be an isomorphism if p does not split in F. We focus in the split case, showing that there are, in general, non-trivial kernels and cokernels.
Geographical variation of sporadic Legionnaires' disease analysed in a grid model
Authors: RUDBECK M. , JEPSEN M. R. , SONNE I. B. , ULDUM S. A. , VISKUM S. , MØLBAK K. 
Published: June 2009

SUMMARYThe aim was to analyse variation in incidence of sporadic Legionnaires' disease in a geographical information system in three time periods (1990–2005) by the application of a grid model and to assess the model's validity by analysing variation according to grid position. Coordinates of the addresses at time of disease of 606 confirmed cases with Legionnaires' disease were obtained. The incidence was calculated in cells of 10×10 km in 25 different grids superimposed on a map of Denmark. A 95% and 99% threshold was applied to identify cells with excess incidence representing potential clusters. Four cells had excess incidence in all three time periods. The analysis in 25 different grid positions indicated a low risk of overlooking cells with excess incidence in a random grid. The coefficient of variation ranged from 0·08 to 0·11 independent of the threshold. By application of a random grid model we demonstrated that it was possible to detect small areas with excess incidence that were not detected in the present surveillance system.
A modified case-control study of cryptosporidiosis (using non-Cryptosporidium-infected enteric cases as controls) in a community setting
Authors: PINTAR K. D. M. , POLLARI F. , WALTNER-TOEWS D. , CHARRON D. F. , McEWEN S. A. , FAZIL A. , NESBITT A. 
Published: June 2009

SUMMARYData from the first sentinel site (Waterloo Region, Ontario) of the Canadian Integrated Enteric Disease Surveillance System (C-EnterNet) were used in a secondary-based case-control study of laboratory-confirmedCryptosporidiuminfections to study the role of various exposure factors. The incidence of cryptosporidiosis in Waterloo Region was almost double both the provincial and national rates. Persons ill with one of nine other enteric infections (amoebiasis, campylobacteriosis, cyclosporiasis, giardiasis, listeriosis, salmonellosis, shigellosis, verotoxigenicE. coliinfections, yersiniosis) captured by the surveillance system were used as the control group. Of 1204 cases of enteric illness in the sentinel area between April 2005 and December 2007, 36 cases and 803 controls were selected after excluding outbreak and international travel-related cases. Univariable analyses (Pearson χ2and Fisher's exact tests) and multivariable logistic regression were performed. Results of the multivariable analysis found that cryptosporidiosis was associated with swimming in a lake or river (OR 2·9, 95% CI 1·2–7·4), drinking municipal water (a potential surrogate for urban respondentsvs.rural) (OR 2·4, 95% CI 1·04–5·7), and having a family member with a diarrhoeal illness (OR 2·9, 95% CI 1·3–6·4).
Meta-analysis of a polymorphic surface glycoprotein of the parasitic protozoaCryptosporidium parvumandCryptosporidium hominis
Authors: WIDMER G. 
Published: June 2009

SUMMARYDue to its extensive polymorphism, a partial sequence of theCryptosporidiumsurface glycoprotein gene gp60 has been frequently used as a genetic marker. I explored the global diversity of this protein, and compared its sequence diversity inCryptosporidium parvumandCryptosporidium hominis. In marked contrast to the geographical partition ofC. parvumandC. hominismulti-locus genotypes, gp60 allelic groups showed no evidence of segregating in space, or of differing with respect to geographical diversity. Globally, genetic diversity ofC. hominisgp60 exceeded that ofC. parvum. WithinC. parvum, gp60 alleles originating from human isolates were more diverse than those infecting ruminants. Phylogenetic analysis grouped gp60 sequences into a small number of relatively homogenous allelic groups, with only a small number of alleles having evolved independently. With the notable exception of a group of alleles restricted to humans,C. parvumalleles are found in ruminants and humans.
Cell size of Antarctic phytoplankton as a biogeochemical condition
Authors: Hewes Christopher D. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractTwo contrasting high nutrient/low chlorophyll regions having different conditions that control phytoplankton production, and separated by an area of blooming, are found during summer in the vicinity of the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica). Low chlorophyll conditions occur either in Fe-rich, deeply mixed and high salinity Weddell Sea shelf waters, or the Fe-poor, shoaled and low salinity Drake Passage Antarctic Circumpolar Current waters, while phytoplankton blooms are located between in mid salinity water. Contrasting phytoplankton communities were found to populate these different biogeochemical provinces. In data from six field seasons (1999–2007), nanoplankton (2–20 μm) were found to be dominant in the phytoplankton populations from light-controlled coastal waters, including blooms, with most chlorophyll found in the 2–5 μm size class. In contrast, the adjacent and presumably Fe-controlled Drake Passage waters were dominated by the microplankton (> 20 μm) size class. The asymmetrical distribution of phytoplankton size classes across the salinity gradient, when analysed independently of total chlorophyll concentration, supports the hypothesis that the different food web grazing dynamics are dependent upon biogeochemical provinces.
Rapid dissolution of shells of weakly calcified Antarctic benthic macroorganisms indicates high vulnerability to ocean acidification
Authors: McClintock James B. , Angus Robert A. , Mcdonald Michelle R. , Amsler Charles D. , Catledge Shane A. , Vohra Yogesh K. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractAntarctic calcified macroorganisms are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification because many are weakly calcified, the dissolution rates of calcium carbonate are inversely related to temperature, and high latitude seas are predicted to become undersaturated in aragonite by the year 2100. We examined the post-mortem dissolution rates of aragonitic and calcitic shells from four species of Antarctic benthic marine invertebrates (two bivalves, one limpet, one brachiopod) and the thallus of a limpet shell-encrusting coralline alga exposed to acidified pH (7.4) or non-acidified pH (8.2) seawater at a constant temperature of 4°C. Within a period of only 14–35 days, shells of all four species held in pH 7.4 seawater had suffered significant dissolution. Despite calcite being 35% less soluble in seawater than aragonite, there was surprisingly, no consistent pattern of calcitic shells having slower dissolution rates than aragonitic shells. Outer surfaces of shells held in pH 7.4 seawater exhibited deterioration by day 35, and by day 56 there was exposure of aragonitic or calcitic prisms within the shell architecture of three of the macroinvertebrate species. Dissolution of coralline algae was confirmed by differences in weight loss in limpet shells with and without coralline algae. By day 56, thalli of the coralline alga held in pH 7.4 displayed a loss of definition of the conceptacle pores and cracking was evident at the zone of interface with limpet shells. Experimental studies are needed to evaluate whether there are adequate compensatory mechanisms in these and other calcified Antarctic benthic macroorganisms to cope with anticipated ocean acidification. In their absence, these organisms, and the communities they comprise, are likely to be among the first to experience the cascading impacts of ocean acidification.
The oldest hexanchiform shark from the Southern Hemisphere (Neoselachii; Early Cretaceous, Antarctica)
Authors: Cione Alberto Luis , Medina Francisco 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThe oldest record of the hexanchiform sharks from the Southern Hemisphere and the second chondrichthyan report known from Carboniferous to Early Cretaceous beds in Antarctica is given. The material was collected in late Aptian rocks of the Kotick Point Formation outcropping in the western part of James Ross Island, near Antarctic Peninsula. It consists of an isolated tooth assignable to a hexanchiform different from the other described genera. The tooth shows putative plesiomorphic cusp (few cusps, no serrations) and apomorphic root characters (relatively deep, quadrangular). It could be related to a species close to the origin ofHexanchus(unknown in beds older than Cenomanian).
Bovine sperm cells viability during incubation with or without exogenous DNA
Authors: Feitosa Weber Beringui , Milazzotto Marcella Pecora , Simões Renata , Rovegno Mariana , Nicacio Alessandra Coralo , Nascimento Aníbal Ballarotti , Gonçalves José Sérgio Arruda , Visintin José Antonio , Assumpção Mayra Elena Ortiz D'Ávila 
Published: June 2009

SummaryThe aim of this study was to assess the effect of exogenous DNA and incubation time on the viability of bovine sperm. Sperm were incubated at a concentration of 5 × 106/ml with or without plasmid pEYFP–NUC. Fluorescent probes, propidium iodide/Hoechst 33342, FITC–PSA and JC-1, were used to assess plasma membrane integrity (PMI), acrosome membrane integrity (AMI) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) respectively at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 h of incubation. Exogenous DNA addition did not affect sperm viability; however, incubation time was related to sperm deterioration. Simultaneous assessment of PMI, AMI and MMP showed a reduction in the number of sperm with higher viability (integrity of plasma and acrosome membranes and high mitochondrial membrane potential) from 58.7% at 0 h to 7.5% after 4 h of incubation. Lower viability sperm (damaged plasma and acrosome membranes and low mitochondrial membrane potential) increased from 4.6% at 0 h to 25.9% after 4 h of incubation. When PMI, AMI and MMP were assessed separately we noticed a reduction in plasma and acrosome membrane integrity and mitochondrial membrane potential throughout the incubation period. Therefore, exogenous DNA addition does not affect sperm viability, but the viability is reduced by incubation time.
Characterizations of stable model semantics for logic programs with arbitrary constraint atoms
Authors: SHEN YI-DONG , YOU JIA-HUAI , YUAN LI-YAN 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThis paper studies the stable model semantics of logic programs with (abstract) constraint atoms and their properties. We introduce a succinct abstract representation of these constraint atoms in which a constraint atom is represented compactly. We show two applications. First, under this representation of constraint atoms, we generalize the Gelfond–Lifschitz transformation and apply it to define stable models (also called answer sets) for logic programs with arbitrary constraint atoms. The resulting semantics turns out to coincide with the one defined by Son et al. (2007), which is based on a fixpoint approach. One advantage of our approach is that it can be applied, in a natural way, to define stable models for disjunctive logic programs with constraint atoms, which may appear in the disjunctive head as well as in the body of a rule. As a result, our approach to the stable model semantics for logic programs with constraint atoms generalizes a number of previous approaches. Second, we show that our abstract representation of constraint atoms provides a means to characterize dependencies of atoms in a program with constraint atoms, so that some standard characterizations and properties relying on these dependencies in the past for logic programs with ordinary atoms can be extended to logic programs with constraint atoms.
Enhancing Retirement Security Through the Tax Code: The Efficacy of Tax-Based Subsidies in Life Annuity Markets
Authors: GENTRY WILLIAM M. , ROTHSCHILD CASEY G. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThe under-development of existing annuity markets coupled with the secular trend away from traditional pensions towards defined contribution accounts in the U.S. raises significant concerns about the adequacy of retirement income for future retirees. We develop dynamic programming techniques to evaluate the efficacy of policies designed to address this concern by encouraging annuitization. Our analysis suggests that policies providing monetary incentives through the tax code can indeed significantly enhance annuitization among retirees: our central estimates suggest that tax-exemption based policies which have been recently proposed in Congress have the potential to increase annuitization by as much as $50,000 for each retired household, at a relatively modest revenue cost to the government. Similar sized policies based instead on refundable tax credits may be more desirable from both efficiency and distributional perspectives.
Alternative risk-based levies in the pension protection fund for multi-employee schemes
Authors: LIU WEIXI , TONKS IAN 
Published: June 2009

AbstractThis paper estimates the risks of financial distress in UK universities, and uses these estimates to examine the basis of the annual levies paid to the UK's Pension Protection Fund by the Universities Superannuation Scheme, a multi-employer scheme covering 391 universities and related institutions. The paper compares the payments between the two alternative participating arrangements for multi-employer pension schemes to the PPF, namely last-man-standing and segmented levies. Using an Ohlson (1980) logit model to predict the financial distress risk for HE institutions, we find that financially distressed institutions are smaller, with higher leverage and lower earnings. By comparing the implied financial distress probabilities from the PPF risk-based levy using USS accounts with the simulated probabilities using our logit model, we estimate whether USS levies are fairly priced. Our estimates suggest that in 2006/07 USS member institutions appeared to be paying less than the fair risk-based levy. However, this is because during the initial phase of the PPF the risk-based levies were much lower as a proportion of the total levy than the intended steady-state values. The implication is that if USS had paid the same total levy but where the risk-based component was four fifths of the total, then USS would have been paying substantially more than its fair risk-based levy. In addition, by looking at the distributions of individual university risk-based levies under a segmented PPF arrangement, we find evidence of significant cross-subsidies under the current last-man-standing levy between participating USS institutions.
A Behavioral Approach to the Modification of Rape
Authors: Marshall W. L. , Williams S. 
Published: June 2009

This paper will describe a program whose framework is based on our research of the general characteristics of rapists, and on the results of individual behavioral analyses of over thirty five such individuals. Treatment is aimed at:(1)reducing the incidence of habitual patterns of unacceptable sexual behavior using aversive therapy and covert sensitization where these two procedures attempt to modify the attractiveness of deviant fantasies.(2)increasing the incidence of appropriate sexual behavior using various techniques such as: (a) orgasmic reconditioning to enhance the attractiveness of appropriate fantasies; desensitization to reduce heterosexual fearj social skill training involving modeling, videotaped role rehersal, and cue discrimination to reduce aggressiveness and inappropriate assertiveness; thought stopping to eliminate hostile thoughts; converant control to enhance self-esteemj and sex education. The specific content of each program is tailored to the individual's particular problems as revealed by a thorough analysis.
InterMap3D: predicting and visualizing co-evolving protein residues
Authors: Gouveia-Oliveira Rodrigo , Roque Francisco S. , Wernersson Rasmus , Sicheritz-Ponten Thomas , Sackett Peter W. , Mølgaard Anne , Pedersen Anders G. 
Published: June 2009

Abstract
Summary: InterMap3D predicts co-evolving protein residues and plots them on the 3D protein structure. Starting with a single protein sequence, InterMap3D automatically finds a set of homologous sequences, generates an alignment and fetches the most similar 3D structure from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). It can also accept a user-generated alignment. Based on the alignment, co-evolving residues are then predicted using three different methods: Row and Column Weighing of Mutual Information, Mutual Information/Entropy and Dependency. Finally, InterMap3D generates high-quality images of the protein with the predicted co-evolving residues highlighted.
Availability: http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/InterMap3D/
Contact: gorm@cbs.dtu.dk
Comments on the analysis of unbalanced microarray data
Authors: Kerr Kathleen F. 
Published: June 2009

AbstractMotivation: Permutation testing is very popular for analyzing microarray data to identify differentially expressed (DE) genes; estimating false discovery rates (FDRs) is a very popular way to address the inherent multiple testing problem. However, combining these approaches may be problematic when sample sizes are unequal.Results: With unbalanced data, permutation tests may not be suitable because they do not test the hypothesis of interest. In addition, permutation tests can be biased. Using biased P-values to estimate the FDR can produce unacceptable bias in those estimates. Results also show that the approach of pooling permutation null distributions across genes can produce invalid P-values, since even non-DE genes can have different permutation null distributions. We encourage researchers to use statistics that have been shown to reliably discriminate DE genes, but caution that associated P-values may be either invalid, or a less-effective metric for discriminating DE genes.Contact: katiek@u.washington.eduSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.