bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A note on the asymptotic relative efficiency of the Wilcoxon rank‐sum test relative to the independent means t test under mixtures of two normal distributions
Authors: Blair R. Clifford , Higgins J. J. 
Published: August 2011

Bradley (1977) has shown that the mixed normal family of distributions is an important population model in many behavioural science research contexts. Researchers engaged in studies of the type discussed by Bradley (1977) might well wonder about the relative appropriateness of various statistical techniques that might be employed in data analyses. For example, in the case of a two‐sample test for shift, should one use the parametric t test or some non‐parametric counterpart such as Wilcoxon's rank‐sum test?The primary purpose of this paper is to examine some of the characteristics of the asymptotic relative efficiency (ARE) of the Wilcoxon rank‐sum test relative to the independent means t test under various mixtures of two normal distributions. Pursuant to this goal, the equation for finding the ARE of the two tests under various mixtures of two distributions is developed, the equation is applied to various example situations, and certain limiting values of the equation are noted. As a result, it is concluded that the Wilcoxon statistic tends to have large ARE advantages over the t test in research contexts similar to those considered by Bradley (1977). It is concluded, therefore, that the Wilcoxon test is the more appropriate statistic for the research situations considered.
Correlation coefficients from 2 × 2 tables and from biserial data
Authors: Chambers R. G. 
Published: August 2011

Various measures of correlation between two quantities x and y are discussed, and it is shown that the phi coefficient is a logically unacceptable measure except perhaps when both x and y are purely qualitative two‐valued attributes.For biserial data, a new measure of correlation is proposed which is free from the shortcomings of the biserial coefficient and the point biserial coefficient.
A comparison of some methodologies for the factor analysis of non‐normal Likert variables
Authors: Muthén Bengt , Kaplan David 
Published: August 2011

This paper considers the problem of applying factor analysis to non‐normal categorical variables. A Monte Carlo study is conducted where five prototypical cases of non‐normal variables are generated. Two normal theory estimators, ML and GLS, are compared to Browne's (1982) ADF estimator. A categorical variable methodology (CVM) estimator of Muthén (1984) is also considered for the most severely skewed case. Results show that ML and GLS chi‐square tests are quite robust but obtain too large values for variables that arc severely skewed and kurtotic. ADF, however, performs well.Parameter estimate bias appears non‐existent for all estimators. Results also show that ML and GLS estimated standard errors are biased downward. For ADF no such standard error bias was found. The CVM estimator appears to work well when applied to severely skewed variables that had been dichotomized. ML and GLS results for a kurtosis only case showed no distortion of chi‐square or parameter estimates and only a slight downward bias in estimated standard errors. The results are compared to those of other related studies.
Unbiased Parallel Detection of Viral Pathogens in Clinical Samples by Use of a Metagenomic Approach
Authors: Yang Jian , Yang Fan , Ren Lili , Xiong Zhaohui , Wu Zhiqiang , Dong Jie , Sun Lilian , Zhang Ting , Hu Yongfeng , Du Jiang , Wang Jianwei , Jin Qi 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACT

Viral infectious diseases represent a major threat to public health and are among the greatest disease burdens worldwide. Rapid and accurate identification of viral agents is crucial for both outbreak control and estimating regional disease burdens. Recently developed metagenomic methods have proven to be powerful tools for simultaneous pathogen detection. Here, we performed a systematic study of the capability of the short-read-based metagenomic approach in the molecular detection of viral pathogens in nasopharyngeal aspirate samples from patients with acute lower respiratory tract infections (
n
= 16). Using the high-throughput capacity of ultradeep sequencing and a dedicated data interpretation method, we successfully identified seven species of known respiratory viral agents from 15 samples, a result that was consistent with results of conventional PCR assays. We also detected a coinfected case that was missed by regular PCR testing. Using the metagenomic data, 11 draft genomes of the abundantly detected viruses in the samples were reconstructed with 21.84% to 98.53% coverage. Our results show the power of the short-read-based metagenomic approach for accurate and parallel screening of viral pathogens. Although there are some inherent difficulties in applying this approach to clinical samples, including a lack of controls, limited specimen quantity, and high contamination rate, our work will facilitate further application of this unprecedented high-throughput method to clinical samples.
Clostridium sordellii as a Cause of Constrictive Pericarditis with Pyopericardium and Tamponade
Authors: Chaudhry Rama , Verma Nishant , Bahadur Tej , Chaudhary Parul , Sharma Pallavi , Sharma Nidhi 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACT

Systemic infections caused by
Clostridium sordellii
are rare. They are usually reported in cases of skin and soft tissue infections and sometimes in cases of toxic shock syndrome involving exotoxins. We report here the first case of
Clostridium sordellii
infection associated with acute constrictive pericarditis and with pyopericardium and tamponade.
Cervicovaginal Self-Sampling Is a Reliable Method for Determination of Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Genotypes in Women Aged 20 to 30 Years
Authors: Deleré Yvonne , Schuster Melanie , Vartazarowa Elena , Hänsel Thomas , Hagemann Ingke , Borchardt Simone , Perlitz Heike , Schneider Achim , Reiter Sabine , Kaufmann Andreas M. 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACT

Self-sampling by cervicovaginal lavage could be an attractive method to detect high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) infections to identify women with a risk of cervical precancer. The objective of our study was to use self-sampling for the first time in a cross-sectional approach to determine HPV prevalence and genotype distribution. We evaluated participants' acceptance and laboratory results from self-obtained samples versus endocervical brush samples obtained by gynecologists. To determine the sensitivity of both sampling methods in presumed high- and low-prevalence settings, two groups of women 20 to 30 years of age with (
n
= 55) and without (
n
= 101) a recent suspicious cytological smear were compared. Overall, 76% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 65 to 88) of women with and 40% (95% CI, 30 to 49) of women without a recent suspicious cytological smear tested HPV positive. The prevalences of high-risk HPV strains were 71% (95% CI, 59 to 83) and 32% (95% CI, 22 to 41), respectively, for these two groups. The agreement for hr-HPV between the two sampling methods for women with and without suspicious cytology was 84% (κ = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86) and 91% (κ = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.92), respectively. Participants rated the user-friendliness of the self-sampling method on a visual analog scale from 0 (easy) to 100 (difficult) with a median of 12. In conclusion, self-sampling by cervicovaginal lavage is a reliable method to determine hr-HPV prevalence and is well accepted by young adult females.
Virus Progeny of Murine Cytomegalovirus Bacterial Artificial Chromosome pSM3fr Show Reduced Growth in Salivary Glands due to a Fixed Mutation of MCK-2
Authors: Jordan Stefan , Krause Johannes , Prager Adrian , Mitrovic Maja , Jonjic Stipan , Koszinowski Ulrich H. , Adler Barbara 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACT

Murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) Smith strain has been cloned as a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) named pSM3fr and used for analysis of virus gene functions
in vitro
and
in vivo
. When sequencing the complete BAC genome, we identified a frameshift mutation within the open reading frame (ORF) encoding MCMV chemokine homologue MCK-2. This mutation would result in a truncated MCK-2 protein. When mice were infected with pSM3fr-derived virus, we observed reduced virus production in salivary glands, which could be reverted by repair of the frameshift mutation. When looking for the source of the mutation, we consistently found that virus stocks of cell culture-passaged MCMV Smith strain are mixtures of viruses with or without the MCK-2 mutation. We conclude that the MCK-2 mutation in the pSM3fr BAC is the result of clonal selection during the BAC cloning procedure.
Prediction of In-Cloud Icing Conditions at Ground Level Using the WRF Model
Authors: Kringlebotn Nygaard Bjørn Egil , Kristjánsson Jón Egill , Makkonen Lasse 
Published: August 2011

AbstractIn-cloud icing on aircraft and ground structures can be observed every winter in many countries. In extreme cases ice can cause accidents and damage to infrastructure such as power transmission lines, telecommunication towers, wind turbines, ski lifts, and so on. This study investigates the potential for predicting episodes of in-cloud icing at ground level using a state-of-the-art numerical weather prediction model. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is applied, with attention paid to the model’s skill to explicitly predict the amount of supercooled cloud liquid water content (SLWC) at the ground level at different horizontal resolutions and with different cloud microphysics schemes. The paper also discusses how well the median volume droplet diameter (MVD) can be diagnosed from the model output. A unique dataset of direct measurements of SLWC and MVD at ground level on a hilltop in northern Finland is used for validation. A mean absolute error of predicted SLWC as low as 0.08 g m−3 is obtained when the highest model resolution is applied (grid spacing equal to 0.333 km), together with the Thompson microphysics scheme. The quality of the SLWC predictions decreases dramatically with decreasing model resolution, and a systematic difference in predictive skill is found between the cloud microphysics schemes applied. A comparison between measured and predicted MVD shows that when prescribing the droplet concentration equal to 250 cm−3 the model predicts MVDs ranging from 12 to 20 μm, which corresponds well to the measured range. However, the variation from case to case is not captured by the current cloud microphysics schemes.
Trust, choice and power in mental health care: Experiences of patients with psychosis
Authors: Laugharne Richard , Priebe Stefan , McCabe Rose , Garland Natasha , Clifford Damian 
Published: August 2011

Background: Trust, choice and power are critical issues in clinical practice, public policies and a post-modern understanding of mental health care. We aimed to investigate the experiences and attitudes of patients with psychosis in relation to trust, choice and power. Method: We conducted 20 in-depth interviews with patients with psychotic disorders in care of NHS services. The interviews were subjected to thematic analysis. Discussion: Patients discussed aspects of their care in terms of dimensions that enhance or undermine trust, choice and power. Two interpretive themes emerged from this data. First, patients perceive the need for a shifting balance of power, according to the severity of their illness and their own experience of care, but feel that threats of coercion and neglect disable them. Second, they appreciate the expertise of clinicians, but particularly value ‘the personal touch’ that goes beyond this expertise, including personal disclosure about their own lives, common acts of kindness and conversation outside clinical matters. Patients view trust as a two-way process with responsibility shared between patient and clinician. Conclusions: The active involvement of patients with psychosis in their individual care may be strengthened, particularly when they are not acutely ill and have more experience of their illness. While patients value expertise and respect in interactions with clinicians, they also appreciate a ‘personal touch’, which may go beyond current notions of professionalism.
State Effects and the Emergence and Success of Female Gubernatorial Candidates
Authors: Windett Jason Harold 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThis article examines the role of society and culture in shaping the opportunity structure and ambition formation of female gubernatorial candidates in all 50 states over a 40-year period. Using a new data set consisting of every woman who entered a gubernatorial primary from 1978 to 2008, the author analyzes how cultural factors and historical legacies—including the percentage of women in the workforce, higher education, and statewide elective offices—influence the opportunity structure and ambition formation of female candidates. The author argues that the female sociopolitical subculture within individual states heavily influences whether or not female candidates will enter and win their respective primaries and general elections. Rather than assuming that individual characteristics are the primary determinants of ambition formation, this research implies that it is necessary to analyze the political behavior within cultural contexts.
Analysis of the melon (Cucumis melo) small RNAome by high-throughput pyrosequencing
Authors: Gonzalez-Ibeas Daniel , Blanca José , Donaire Livia , Saladié Montserrat , Mascarell-Creus Albert , Cano-Delgado Ana , Garcia-Mas Jordi , Llave Cesar , Aranda Miguel A 
Published: August 2011

Abstract

Background
Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a commercially important fruit crop that is cultivated worldwide. The melon research community has recently benefited from the determination of a complete draft genome sequence and the development of associated genomic tools, which have allowed us to focus on small RNAs (sRNAs). These are short, non-coding RNAs 21-24 nucleotides in length with diverse physiological roles. In plants, they regulate gene expression and heterochromatin assembly, and control protection against virus infection. Much remains to be learned about the role of sRNAs in melon.

Results
We constructed 10 sRNA libraries from two stages of developing ovaries, fruits and photosynthetic cotyledons infected with viruses, and carried out high-throughput pyrosequencing. We catalogued and analysed the melon sRNAs, resulting in the identification of 26 known miRNA families (many conserved with other species), the prediction of 84 melon-specific miRNA candidates, the identification of trans- acting siRNAs, and the identification of chloroplast, mitochondrion and transposon-derived sRNAs. In silico analysis revealed more than 400 potential targets for the conserved and novel miRNAs.

Conclusion
We have discovered and analysed a large number of conserved and melon-specific sRNAs, including miRNAs and their potential target genes. This provides insight into the composition and function of the melon small RNAome, and paves the way towards an understanding of sRNA-mediated processes that regulate melon fruit development and melon-virus interactions.
Lamivudine plus adefovir is a good option for chronic hepatitis B patients with viral relapse after cessation of lamivudine treatment
Authors: Wang Zhao , Wu Xiao-Ling , Zeng Wei-Zheng , Xu Hui , Zhang Yong , Qin Jian-Ping , Jiang Ming-De 
Published: August 2011

Abstract

Aim
Currently, there is no consensus on the retreatment recommendation of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with viral rebound after cessation of treatment. In the search of reasonable treatment, we compared the efficacy and safety of adefovir (ADV) plus lamivudine (LAM) and LAM alone for the retreatment of patients with viral relapse but without genotypic resistance after cessation of LAM.

Methods
This is a prospective controlled study, and a total of 53 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients with viral rebound but without resistance were received either LAM plus ADV or LAM alone treatment.

Results
After 1-year treatment, more patients who received LAM plus ADV than those who received LAM alone had ALT normalization (84% versus 53.6%, P = 0.018) or HBV DNA levels below 1000 copies/mL (80% versus 42.9%, P < 0.006). Seven patients receiving LAM plus ADV had HBeAg seroconversion, as compared with 0 in patients receiving ALM alone (28% versus 0%, P = 0.003). During 1-year retreatment, five patients receiving LAM alone had virological breakthrough and all of them had LAM resistance strains (rtM204V/I), while no LAM- or ADV- associated resistance strains were detected in patients receiving LAM plus ADV. All patients receiving LAM plus ADV were well tolerated, and no serious side effects were noted.

Conclusions
Patients treated with LAM plus ADV exhibited significantly greater virological, biochemical and serological responses compared with LAM alone. These data suggested that combination of LAM plus ADV would be a good option for the retreatment of CHB patients with viral relapse after cessation of LAM.
Abstractions and idealisations: The construction of modern linguistics
Authors: Stokhof Martin , van Lambalgen Michiel 
Published: August 2011

Abstract
The paper addresses the way in which modern linguistics, – in particular, but not exclusively, the generative tradition –, has constructed its core concepts. It argues that a particular form of construction, reminiscent of, but crucially different from, abstraction, which is dubbed ‘idealisation’, plays a central role here. The resemblances and differences between abstractions and idealisations are investigated, and consequences of the reliance on idealisations are reviewed.
Relaxation of SiGe Films for the Fabrication of Strained Si Devices
Authors: Maa J.S. , Tweet D. J. , Lee J.J. , Hsu S.T. , Fujii K. , Naka T. , Ueda T. , Baba T. , Awaya N. , Sakiyama K. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractFor the fabrication of bulk strained Si devices, a thin Si layer is deposited on a virtual substrate consisting of a several μm thick compositionally graded SiGe layer. A simpler approach utilizing H or He implantation to enhance relaxation of a thin SiGe film was recently reported. In this current work, hydrogen implantation is used to enhance the SiGe relaxation; and, relaxation beyond the previous reported limit is demonstrated. Experiments are performed on CVD deposited SiGe films with Ge fractions ranging from 20% to 40 % and thickness in the range of 100nm to about 500nm. After annealing at 800°C, relaxation of more than 80% is achieved. PMOS and NMOS devices are successfully fabricated and much enhanced hole and electron mobilities are demonstrated.
Wafer Fusion ofGaSb to GaAs
Authors: Wang C.A. , Liau Z.L. , Shiau D.A. , Nitishin P.M. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractAtomic wafer fusion of GaSb to GaAs, and the transfer of epitaxial GaSb/GaInAsSb/GaSb heterostructures to GaAs by fusion and substrate removal are demonstrated for the first time. Wafers and epilayers were fused with or without application of mechanical pressure at temperatures as low as 350 °C. A periodic pattern of grooves etched into the GaAs wafer and an overpressure of As and Sb vapor were used to improve covalent bonding. Varying degrees of mass transport and covalent bond formation between wafers were observed in cleaved crosssections under high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. Epilayers fused without pressure application exhibited significantly better structural and optical properties compared to those fused with pressure.
Differences in the scaling of area and mass of Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgoaceae) leaves and their relevance to the study of specific leaf area
Authors: Niklas Karl J. , Christianson Michael L. 
Published: August 2011

• Premise of the study: The manner in which the area of the leaf lamina (A) scales with respect to the dry mass of the lamina (M) is an important functional trait that is correlated with whole‐plant growth rates and habitat preferences across diverse species. However, the extent to which the scaling between these two variables differs among leaves collected from different types of shoots within the canopy of a tree is poorly understood. Should they exist, significant differences in the A vs. M scaling relationship within canopies would raise a number of important questions, in particular what constitutes an adequate sampling procedure to determine the whole‐canopy A vs. M relationship.•Methods: To address this issue, we used a large data set representing 13 biologically distinct categories of leaves sampled from mega‐ and microsporangiate trees of the dioecious gymnosperm Ginkgo biloba.•Key results: Analyses of the data for these 13 categories of leaves identify seven statistically significantly different modes of A vs. M scaling that result in significant differences in how specific leaf area (SLA) changes as M varies within the canopies of Ginkgo.•Conclusions: These results indicate that the protocols used to sample leaves for the analysis of foliar functional traits such as specific leaf area need to acknowledge and cope with the effects of leaf and shoot polymorphisms on the quantification of functional traits (and on the construction and testing of hypotheses about these traits).
Arthrodiatasis for Management of Knee Osteoarthritis
Authors: Aly Tarek A. , Hafez Kamal , Amin Osama 
Published: August 2011

Osteoarthritic disease is the result of mechanical and biological events that destabilize the normal processes of degradation and synthesis of articular cartilage chondrocytes, extracellular matrix, and subchondral bone. Osteoarthritis of the knee can cause symptoms ranging from mild to disabling. Initial management of most patients should be nonoperative, but because of the progressive nature of the disease, many patients with osteoarthritis of the knee eventually benefit from operative treatment. Various procedures have been described for treatment of the osteoarthritic knee, ranging from arthroscopic lavage and debridement to total knee arthroplasty. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical results of distraction arthroplasty combined with arthroscopic lavage and drilling of cartilage defects for treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee.Nineteen patients (15 women and 4 men; age range, 39–65 years) were operated on. Pre- and postoperative findings were compared. A control group comprising 42 patients treated with only arthroscopic procedures was evaluated for comparison. Follow-up ranged from 3 to 5 years. Results were evaluated both clinically and radiologically postoperatively and throughout the follow-up period. Clinically, pain and walking capacity improved in most patients. Radiologically, joint space widening and improvement of the tibiofemoral angle was noted in nearly all patients.