bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Performance of mid‐project reviews (MPRs): quantification based on fuzzy recognition
Authors: Xu Ming , Duffield Colin , Ma Jianqin 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop and validate an innovative Fuzzy Recognition Based‐Benefit Estimation Model (FRB‐BEM) to quantify the benefits obtained from a Mid‐Project Review (MPR) (e.g. the Gateway Review Process (GRP)). This is a quantitative assessment to evaluate the benefits obtained from conducting MPRs. With the wide adoption of MPR internationally, such measurements will better support critical decisions in capital projects and also assist to optimize project lifecycle performance.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopted Relative Membership Degree (RMD) based fuzzy sets as the fundamental theory to develop the FRB‐BEM utilizing linguistic information from MPR reports. It was then tested by analysis of an aviation IT project that underwent a Gateway review. A parametric study was also conducted to calibrate the model.FindingsThe FRB‐BEM developed and validated in this paper provided a viable approach to quantify the total benefits obtained from undertaking MPRs.Research limitations/implicationsRefinement of the FRB‐BEM assumptions would benefit from testing against a wide project sample set.Practical implicationsUsing the FRB‐BEM applications to better demonstrate the benefits of MPRs.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates how FRB‐BEM has extended RMD based fuzzy sets theory into applications for MPRs and incorporated fuzzy level values based on linguistic interpretation of hard data.
Impact of flood damaged critical infrastructure on communities and industries
Authors: Deshmukh Abhijeet , Ho Oh Eun , Hastak Makarand 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the severity of social and economic impact of floods on the communities and industries with respect to their reliance on the flood impacted critical infrastructure. This paper illustrates a severity assessment tool to determine the reduced serviceability level of critical infrastructure after a disaster, how the change in serviceability impacts activities of associated communities and industries, and the resulting social and economic impact.Design/methodology/approachThe results presented in this paper are a part of a larger research designed to develop a decision support system for disaster impact mitigation. This research evaluated the impact of floods as a natural hazard on infrastructure and the related industries and communities in terms of criticality and vulnerability of infrastructure and the severity of social and economic impact if the critical infrastructure were to be affected. The overall research focused on the 2008 Midwest floods for the required data collection (including the cities of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Terre Haute, Indiana, St Louis, Missouri, Gulfport and Des Plaines, Illinois). Relevant data were collected through questionnaire surveys, personal interviews, and site visits.FindingsThe data collected through this research highlighted the importance of relationship between infrastructure, communities and industries with respect to technical, social and economic aspects. While the overall research resulted in a Decision Support System with three modules, to assess criticality, vulnerability and severity, this paper only elaborates the Severity Assessment Tool (SAT). Serviceability of an infrastructure plays an important role in post disaster recovery and response. Reduction in the serviceability of an infrastructure also affects the functionality of the activities that depend on the affected infrastructure resulting in social and economic impact. The tool presented in this paper determines the severity of social and economic impact by evaluating the reduction in the functionality of the affected activities.Originality/ValueThe model (SAT) presented in this paper determines the social and economic impact on communities and industries due to natural disaster when the serviceability of disaster impacted critical infrastructure is impaired. This tool can be effectively used by city managers as well as emergency planners for industries and communities in developing mitigation strategies based on the severity of social and economic impact due to the affected critical infrastructure. The results would also help the decision makers in arriving at more effective investment decisions to repair/rehabilitate certain critical infrastructure.
Boosting performance of road infrastructure
Authors: Yean Yng Ling Florence , Tat Ng Wee 
Published: November 2011

PurposeSingapore's land transportation is governed by a comprehensive set of rules, regulations, operations and systems to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is the main agency in charge of road operations. Despite the LTA's best efforts, road related problems still surface every now and then. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to boost the performance of existing road infrastructure. Using Singapore as a case, the specific research objectives are to: ascertain motorists’ level of satisfaction with the road infrastructure; find out problems faced by motorists when using the road infrastructure; determine factors affecting motorists’ satisfaction with the road infrastructure; and design and test a model to predict motorists’ satisfaction with the road infrastructure.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted on motorists. Through a combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling, a total of 53 responses were collected. After the survey, interviews were conducted with subject matter experts to understand the current practices and possible solutions to the problems.FindingsThe most significant problem is water ponding on roads. Traffic redirection due to road works and coordination among government agencies in road opening works also did not achieve significantly good ratings. Two practices are found to directly give rise to higher satisfaction with the road infrastructure: road cleanliness; and efficiency in traffic redirection arising from road works.Research limitations/implicationsMotorists were asked to rate on a ten‐point scale. This may give rise to bias because satisfaction and performance are subjective and not easily quantified.Practical implicationsMotorists’ satisfaction level with the road infrastructure is dependent on cleanliness of roads and efficiency of traffic diversion when there are road works. The implication is that the government should arrange for roads to be regularly cleaned and at the same time educate the public to keep roads clean and enforce laws against those who litter. The time for traffic diversion should be minimized by increasing productivity of road works, so that these can be completed quickly.Originality/valueThe road network is a valuable infrastructural asset of a country. Due to its large scale and complexity, managing road operations is no easy feat. Even though Singapore has a comprehensive set of procedures, rules and regulations to manage this asset, problems and complaints continue to surface. This study has identified the major problems plaguing Singapore's road infrastructure. Furthermore, a model to predict motorists’ satisfaction with the road infrastructure was successfully developed and tested. With this knowledge in mind, the LTA can focus on improving these factors to boost performance of road infrastructure through road maintenance and road works.
Relationship between monocyte/macrophage activation marker soluble CD163 and insulin resistance in obese and normal‐weight subjects
Authors: Zanni Markella V. , Burdo Tricia H. , Makimura Hideo , Williams Kenneth C. , Grinspoon Steven K. 
Published: November 2011

SummaryContext  The relationship of monocyte/macrophage activation to insulin resistance in obesity is unknown.Objective  To investigate a marker of macrophage activation, soluble CD163 (sCD163), in relationship to insulin resistance and metabolic parameters in obese and normal‐weight subjects.Design and Participants  Ninety‐five healthy subjects (65 obese and 30 normal‐weight) were studied. Plasma concentrations of sCD163 were assessed, as well as markers of glucose homeostasis, anthropometrics, cytokines and adipokines. The relationships between sCD163 and these parameters were investigated, and multiple regression modelling assessing the contribution of sCD163 to insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) was performed.Results  Soluble CD163 was significantly increased in obese subjects compared with normal‐weight controls [974 (657, 1272) ng/ml vs 599 (423, 892) ng/ml, median (IQR); P < 0·0001]. sCD163 was strongly associated with HOMA‐IR (Spearman’s ρ = 0·37, P = 0·0003) and other metabolic parameters. In multiple regression modelling for log HOMA‐IR, sCD163 remained significantly associated (P = 0·005) controlling for known mediators of insulin resistance including age, gender, visceral adiposity and inflammatory markers (model R2 = 0·54, P < 0·0001). Additional nested multiple regression models for log HOMA‐IR showed that sCD163 added more than other adipokines and inflammatory markers to the prediction of HOMA‐IR.Conclusions  Monocyte/macrophage activation, as reflected by sCD163 levels, is strongly associated with HOMA‐IR in normal‐weight and obese subjects after controlling for known mediators of insulin resistance. Moreover, sCD163 adds to standard risk markers for predicting insulin resistance. These data suggest that monocyte/macrophage activation may be an important determinant of insulin resistance in obesity.
Effects of music intervention with nursing presence and recorded music on psycho‐physiological indices of cancer patient caregivers
Authors: Lai Hui‐Ling , Li Yin‐Ming , Lee Li‐Hua 
Published: November 2011

Aims and objectives.  To compare the effects of music intervention with nursing presence and recorded music on blood volume pulse amplitude, the low/high frequency ratio component of heart rate variability, depression, anxiety and sleep quality in cancer patient caregivers; to compare the participants evaluation of these two forms of musical intervention.Background.  Presence is one of the activities of caring. However, little is known about the effect of music intervention with nursing presence on psycho‐physiological indices.Design.  Randomised crossover controlled trial.Method.  Thirty‐four female participants were randomly assigned to a music intervention with nursing presence/recorded music sequence or recorded music/music intervention with nursing presence sequence. Each intervention lasted 30 minutes and was held at the participant’s home. The music intervention with nursing presence consisted of an erhu and recorder performance. In the recorded music session, participants listened to prerecorded music for 30 minutes. Continuous measurements of blood volume pulse and low/high frequency ratio were taken throughout the procedure. Depression, anxiety and sleep quality were measured before and after each intervention.Results.  Both music intervention with nursing presence and recorded music interventions had beneficial effects on anxiety, depression and blood volume pulse amplitude. Significant differences between the two interventions were also observed for anxiety. Music intervention with nursing presence was more effective in lessening anxiety and on improving the ease of getting to sleep compared with recorded music (p < 0·05). All participants reported that they preferred music intervention with nursing presence to recorded music. Significant differences were found in music evaluation scores between the two interventions in terms of harmony and friendliness (p < 0·05).Conclusions.  Both music interventions were beneficial, as measured on psycho‐physiological indices. The music intervention with nursing presence provided a more friendly music experience to the listeners.Relevance to clinical practice.  The findings provide evidence for nurses that the therapeutic use of music and nursing presence as a research‐based nursing intervention for the welfare of caregivers.
Sustained attention to response task (SART) shows impaired vigilance in a spectrum of disorders of excessive daytime sleepiness
Authors: VAN SCHIE MOJCA K. M. , THIJS ROLAND D. , FRONCZEK ROLF , MIDDELKOOP HUUB A. M. , LAMMERS GERT JAN , VAN DIJK J. GERT 
Published: November 2011

SummaryThe sustained attention to response task comprises withholding key presses to one in nine of 225 target stimuli; it proved to be a sensitive measure of vigilance in a small group of narcoleptics. We studied sustained attention to response task results in 96 patients from a tertiary narcolepsy referral centre. Diagnoses according to ICSD‐2 criteria were narcolepsy with (n = 42) and without cataplexy (n = 5), idiopathic hypersomnia without long sleep time (n = 37), and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (n = 12). The sustained attention to response task was administered prior to each of five multiple sleep latency test sessions. Analysis concerned error rates, mean reaction time, reaction time variability and post‐error slowing, as well as the correlation of sustained attention to response task results with mean latency of the multiple sleep latency test and possible time of day influences. Median sustained attention to response task error scores ranged from 8.4 to 11.1, and mean reaction times from 332 to 366 ms. Sustained attention to response task error score and mean reaction time did not differ significantly between patient groups. Sustained attention to response task error score did not correlate with multiple sleep latency test sleep latency. Reaction time was more variable as the error score was higher. Sustained attention to response task error score was highest for the first session. We conclude that a high sustained attention to response task error rate reflects vigilance impairment in excessive daytime sleepiness irrespective of its cause. The sustained attention to response task and the multiple sleep latency test reflect different aspects of sleep/wakefulness and are complementary.
Unraveling the regulatory network of the MADS box transcription factor RIN in fruit ripening
Authors: Qin Guozheng , Wang Yuying , Cao Baohua , Wang Weihao , Tian Shiping 
Published: November 2011

SummaryThe MADS box transcription factor RIN is a global regulator of fruit ripening. However, the direct targets modulated by RIN and the mechanisms underlying the transcriptional regulation remain largely unknown. Here we identified 41 protein spots representing 35 individual genes as potential targets of RIN by comparative proteomic analysis of a rin mutant in tomato fruits. Gene expression analysis showed that the mRNA level of 26 genes correlated well with the protein level. After examining the promoter regions of the candidate genes, a variable number of RIN binding sites were found. Five genes (E8, TomloxC, PNAE, PGK and ADH2) were identified as novel direct targets of RIN by chromatin immunoprecipitation. The results of a gel mobility shift assay confirmed the direct binding of RIN to the promoters of these genes. Of the direct target genes, TomloxC and ADH2, which encode lipoxygenase (LOX) and alcohol dehydrogenase, respectively, are critical for the production of characteristic tomato aromas derived from LOX pathway. Further study indicated that RIN also directly regulates the expression of HPL, which encodes hydroperoxide lyase, another rate‐limiting enzyme in the LOX pathway. Loss of function of RIN causes de‐regulation of the LOX pathway, leading to a specific defect in the generation of aroma compounds derived from this pathway. These results indicate that RIN modulates aroma formation by direct and rigorous regulation of expression of genes in the LOX pathway. Taken together, our findings suggest that the regulatory effect of RIN on fruit ripening is achieved by targeting specific molecular pathways.
Prevalence of melanocytic nevi in 8‐ to 10‐year‐old children in Southern Spain and analysis of associated factors
Authors: Buendía‐Eisman A. , Paláu‐Lázaro M.C. , Arias‐Santiago S. , Cabrera‐León A. , Serrano‐Ortega S. 
Published: November 2011

AbstractBackground  There is a known relationship between melanocytic nevi (MN) and cutaneous melanoma. MN are related to genetic and environmental factors, and the latter appear to be more important in childhood.Objectives  To determine the prevalence of MN and its relationship with phenotypic traits and sun exposure habits in 8‐ to 10‐year‐old children.Subjects and methods  We performed a cross‐sectional study of 8‐ to 10‐year‐old primary school children in the city of Granada (Spain), gathering data on phenotypic traits, sun protection measures, sunburn frequency and the number and density of MN.Results  We detected a mean of 19.38 MN per child, predominantly <2 mm in diameter. MN count was associated with low phototype, and was higher in boys vs. girls with low phototype. MN were more numerous with higher age. The largest number of MN of all sizes was detected in 10‐year‐old boys. MN were most frequently located on the torso and other sites intermittently exposed to sunlight.Conclusions  A higher MN count is associated with lower phototype (blonde hair and fair skin) and higher age. The mean number of MN, including those of smaller size (<2 mm), was elevated in our series, especially on intermittently exposed sites.
Illness burden and medical comorbidity in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Magalhães P. V. , Kapczinski F. , Nierenberg A. A. , Deckersbach T. , Weisinger D. , Dodd S. , Berk M. 
Published: November 2011

Magalhães PV, Kapczinski F, Nierenberg AA, Deckersbach T, Weisinger D, Dodd S, Berk M. Illness burden and medical comorbidity in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder.Objective:  Coexisting chronic medical conditions are common in bipolar disorder. Here, we report the prevalence and correlates of medical comorbidity in patients enrolled in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP‐BD). We were particularly interested in associations between variables reflecting illness chronicity and burden with comorbid medical conditions.Method:  We used intake data from the open‐label component of the STEP‐BD. History of medical comorbidity was obtained from the affective disorders evaluation, and its presence was the outcome of interest. The sample size in analyses varied from 3399 to 3534. We used multiple Poisson regression to obtain prevalence ratios.Results:  The prevalence of any medical comorbidity in the sample was 58.8%. In addition to demographic variable, several clinical characteristics were associated with the frequency of medical comorbidity. Having more than 10 previous mood episodes, childhood onset, smoking, lifetime comorbidity with anxiety, and substance use disorders were independently associated with having a medical comorbidity in the final multivariate model.Conclusion:  The results presented here reveal strong associations between variables related to illness chronicity and medical burden in bipolar disorder. This lends further support to recent multidimensional models incorporating medical morbidity as a core feature of bipolar disorder.
The relationship between osteoporosis and periodontitis in women aged 45–70 years
Authors: Pepelassi E , Nicopoulou‐Karayianni K , Archontopoulou AD , Mitsea A , Kavadella A , Tsiklakis K , Vrotsos I , Devlin H , Horner K 
Published: November 2011

Oral Diseases (2012) 18, 353–359Objective:  To explore the possible relationship between the osteoporotic condition and the severity of periodontitis in women aged 45–70 years.Materials and Methods:  Ninety women with generalized chronic periodontitis, aged 45–70 years, were studied. Areal bone mineral density (BMDa) was assessed using standardized dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry (normal: T‐score ≥ −1, osteopenic: −2.5 ≤ T‐score <−1, osteoporotic: T‐score < −2.5). Gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing, clinical attachment loss (CAL), probing pocket depth and gingival recession (GR) were recorded. Periodontitis severity was represented by CAL. Menopausal condition and smoking were documented.Results:  Mean GI, bleeding on probing, CAL and GR were significantly greater for osteoporotic women than women with normal BMDa (P = 0.002, P = 0.01, P = 0.04, respectively). Osteopenic women and women with normal BMDa significantly differed in mean GI (P = 0.02). The associations found between osteoporotic women and women with normal BMDa and the associations found between osteopenic women and women with normal BMDa existed even after adjusting for smoking and menopausal status.Conclusion:  Subjects with osteoporosis (OPR) presented with greater CAL than the subjects with normal BMDa, which suggests a greater severity of periodontitis. Subjects with OPR had greater GR than the subjects with normal BMDa. Subjects with osteopenia and subjects with normal BMDa did not differ in CAL, which might suggest that the early diagnosis of reduced BMDa, prior to the establishment of a significant negative impact on the periodontal tissues, might be important. Smoking and menopausal status did not alter these associations.
Clinical signs and left atrial size in cats with cardiovascular disease in general practice
Authors: Smith S. , Dukes‐McEwan J. 
Published: November 2011

Objectives: To evaluate population characteristics, clinical signs and simple echocardiographic measurements of a general practice population of cats, in identifying characteristics that reliably distinguish cats with heart disease from others, including those with respiratory disease, using widely available techniques.Methods: Cats presented with heart disease (n=103), respiratory disease (n=19) and a normal group (n=29) were prospectively recruited. All cats were subject to full clinical examination, echocardiography and additional diagnostic procedures as appropriate to establish definitive diagnosis. Cats were classified as Group 1: no heart disease ± respiratory disease; Group 2: heart disease with no clinical signs; Group 3: heart disease with clinical signs. Murmur, gallop sound and arrhythmia prevalence and left atrial size were compared between the groups.Results: Low heart rates prevailed in Group 3. Murmurs were prevalent in Group 2, but in Group 3 prevalence was significantly lower. Dyspnoea, gallop sounds, arrhythmias and left atrial diameter were significantly different between groups.ClinicalSignificance: Heart rate is unreliable for diagnosing heart failure in cats. Absence of murmur is prevalent in cats with clinical signs of heart failure, but arrhythmia and gallop sounds are prevalent. Echocardiographic measurement of left atrial diameter >16.5 mm may distinguish heart failure from respiratory disease in general practice.