bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Constraints from strontium and neodymium isotopic ratios and trace elements on the sources of the sediments in Lake Huguang Maar
Authors: Zhou Houyun , Wang Bo-Shian , Guan Huazheng , Lai Yi-Jen , You Chen-Feng , Wang Jinlian , Yang Huai-Jen 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe sediments in Lake Huguang Maar in coastal South China were previously thought to originate mainly from wind-blown dust transported from North China, such that the lake sediments recorded the varying strength of the Asian winter monsoon. An alternative explanation was that the local pyroclastic rocks supplied the lake sediments, but the actual contributions from the different sources remained unclear. Geochemical analyses including87Sr/86Sr and143Nd/144Nd and trace elements support the local pyroclastic rock as the dominant source: <22% of the total Sr in the lake sediments and ∼ 17% of the Nd arises from the distant source. Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf for the lake sediments are identical to those for the local rock but differ from the ratios for the wind-blown dust, and chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns for the lake sediments are similar to those for the local rock and soil, but differ from those for the distant source. The sediments in Lake Huguang Maar are probably input into the lake through runoff and thus controlled by the hydrology of the lake. Wind-blown dust transported by the Asian winter monsoon from arid North China is only a minor contribution to the sediments.
A Monte Carlo Approach to Diffusion
Authors: Hägerstrand Torsten 
Published: July 2009

The nebula-like cluster is a common trait in the spatial picture of man's attributes. Take any atlas showing economic or cultural elements and you will find an endless sequence of spatial distributions which have a concentrated core surrounded by a border zone of outwards decreasing density.There is nothing such as one single and simple explanation of the “nebula-distribution”. But nevertheless one particular process which creates this type of distribution—temporarily or as an end result—seems to be highly significant: diffusion of techniques and ideas through the network of social contacts.
Is religion important in Belgium?
Authors: Fox Renèe C. 
Published: July 2009

‘Religion is no longer important in Belgium!’, they declared. Wherever I travelled in Belgium over the course of 1976–1977, the year of my sabbatical leave from an American university, and my eighteenth consecutive year of fieldwork in Belgian society, friends, colleagues, and informants announced this.I was particularly puzzled by this statement because I had always considered Belgium to be a society deeply imprinted by religion: by its diffuse Catholicism, and its complex reactions to it. Belgians from the whole range of philosophical, political, linguistic, regional, and social-class milieux in which I had worked knew that this was my considered judgment. Yet, on this visit, they seemed intent on showing me that religion was less important to them, and in their society, than I had supposed. The picture that many Belgians painted was of a society where religion had not merely waned, but spontaneously, and with great rapidity, had virtually disappeared. However much this image intrigued me, neither sociological theory, nor my own first-hand observations on previous trips to Belgium made it seem credible.
Bilan et perspectives de la sociologie de la science dans les pays occidentaux
Authors: Lécuyer Bernard-Pierre 
Published: July 2009

Définir d'emblée la sociologie de la science n'est pas choseaisée. Y parviendrait-on même que l'exploit formel aurait peu d'intérêt, dépourvue que serait la définition des référents empiriques qui lui donneraient un sens. Contentons-nous done d'affirmer ici que la sociologie de la science, si multiples que soient ses acceptions et ses tendances, est une incontestable réalité intellectuelle qui s'efforce souvent avec succès de conquérir une dignité scientifique. Quatre remarques s'imposent d'emblée:1) Comme la sociologie du travail et plus encore la sociologie militaire, la sociologie de la science s'est développée bien après que les activités sociales qu'elle veut étudier, e'est-à-dire la recherche et l'enseignement scientifiques, fussent devenues (a) des activités numériquement importantes, (b) consommant des ressources considérables, (c) dont les résultats ont une certaine importance pour chacun des États-nations concernés.
A phenomenology of Galileo's experiments with pendulums
Authors: PALMIERI PAOLO 
Published: July 2009

AbstractThe paper reports new findings about Galileo's experiments with pendulums and discusses their significance in the context of Galileo's writings. The methodology is based on a phenomenological approach to Galileo's experiments, supported by computer modelling and close analysis of extant textual evidence. This methodology has allowed the author to shed light on some puzzles that Galileo's experiments have created for scholars.
Development and implementation cost analysis of telephone- and Internet-based interventions for the maintenance of weight loss
Authors: Meenan Richard T. , Stevens Victor J. , Funk Kristine , Bauck Alan , Jerome Gerald J. , Lien Lillian F. , Appel Lawrence , Hollis Jack F. , Brantley Phillip J. , Svetkey Laura P. 
Published: July 2009

Objectives:The Weight Loss Maintenance Trial (WLM) was a multicenter, randomized trial comparing two weight loss maintenance interventions, a personal contact (PC) program with primarily telephone-based monthly contacts, and an Internet-based program (interactive technology, IT), to a self-directed control group, among overweight or obese individuals at high cardiovascular risk. This study describes implementation costs of both interventions as well as IT development costs.Methods:Resources were micro-costed in 2006 dollars from the primary perspective of a sponsoring healthcare system considering adopting an extant intervention, rather than developing its own. Costs were discounted at 3 percent annually. Length of trial participation was 30 months (randomization during February–November 2004). IT development costs were assessed over 36 months. Univariate and multivariate, including probabilistic, sensitivity analyses were performed.Results:Total discounted IT development costs over 36 months were $839,949 ($2,414 per IT participant). Discounted 30-month implementation costs for 342 PC participants were $537,242 ($1,571 per participant), and for 348 IT participants, were $214,879 ($617 per participant). Under all plausible scenarios, PC implementation costs exceeded IT implementation costs.Conclusions:Costs of implementing and operating an Internet-based intervention for weight loss maintenance were substantially less than analogous costs of an intervention using standard phone and in-person contacts and are of a magnitude that would be attractive to many health systems, subject to demonstration of cost-effectiveness.
A valuation of patients' willingness-to-pay for insulin delivery in diabetes
Authors: Guimarães Camila , Marra Carlo A. , Colley Lindsey , Gill Sabrina , Simpson Scot H. , Meneilly Graydon S. , Queiroz Regina H. C. , Lynd Larry D. 
Published: July 2009

Objectives:The aim of this study was to determine the insulin-delivery system and the attributes of insulin therapy that best meet patients' preferences, and to estimate patients' willingness-to-pay (WTP) for them.Methods:This was a cross-sectional discrete choice experiment (DCE) study involving 378 Canadian patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Patients were asked to choose between two hypothetical insulin treatment options made up of different combinations of the attribute levels. Regression coefficients derived using conditional logit models were used to calculate patients' WTP. Stratification of the sample was performed to evaluate WTP by predefined subgroups.Results:A total of 274 patients successfully completed the survey. Overall, patients were willing to pay the most for better blood glucose control followed by weight gain. Surprisingly, route of insulin administration was the least important attribute overall. Segmented models indicated that insulin naïve diabetics were willing to pay significantly more for both oral and inhaled short-acting insulin compared with insulin users. Surprisingly, type 1 diabetics were willing to pay $C11.53 for subcutaneous short-acting insulin, while type 2 diabetics were willing to pay $C47.23 to avoid subcutaneous short-acting insulin (p&lt; .05). These findings support the hypothesis of a psychological barrier to initiating insulin therapy, but once that this barrier has been overcome, they accommodate and accept injectable therapy as a treatment option.Conclusions:By understanding and addressing patients' preferences for insulin therapy, diabetes educators can use this information to find an optimal treatment approach for each individual patient, which may ultimately lead to improved control, through improved compliance, and better diabetes outcomes.
Effects of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's technology appraisals on prescribing and net ingredient costs of drugs in the National Health Service in England
Authors: Dietrich Eva Susanne 
Published: July 2009

Objectives:The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE's) negative and restricting technology appraisals on the number of prescription items dispensed and the corresponding total net ingredient costs for drugs from 2000 to 2004 in the ambulatory care of the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales. In addition, it is discussed whether the NICE approach could be a role model for Germany.Methods:The number of prescription items dispensed and the net ingredient costs of thirty-one drugs reimbursed by the NHS were analyzed, thereof thirteen drugs descriptively and twenty-one drugs with regression analyses. Data were extracted from the “Prescription-Costs-Analysis-Statistics” for the ambulatory care of the British Department of Health (England 1993–2005). In the case of the twenty-one drugs analyzed by regression analyses, predictions were established how the prescribing and the costs would have developed without NICE's drug appraisal. Finally, conclusions were drawn whether NICE's negative and restricting drug appraisals had a decreasing effect or not.Results:For 97 percent of the drugs analyzed in this study, the publication of NICE's fourteen negative and restricting technology appraisals of drugs between 2000 and 2004 did not reduce the number of prescription items dispensed and net ingredient costs in the ambulatory care of the NHS in England and Wales.Conclusions:Cost-effectiveness appraisals as performed by NICE or the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen, IQWiG) are a useful and important tool to enhance the discussion about methods and acceptance of evidence-based medicine in general.
Policy implications of rationalization of statin use in Lithuania
Authors: Kadusevicius Edmundas , Jankauskiene Danguole , Paulauskaite Inga , Slapikas Rimvydas 
Published: July 2009

Objectives:The aim of this study was to assess the trends and costs of statin use in Lithuania over a 3-year period and perform a cost-minimization and reference price analysis to rationalize the use of financial resources of the National Health Care System.Methods: The defined daily dose (DDD) methodology was applied for assessment of statin use, which was expressed in DDD/1,000 inhabitants/day. Cost minimization and reference price calculations were used in the economic analysis.Results:Over the 3-year period (2005–2007), the consumption and expenditures of statins in Lithuania doubled. The consumption went up from 3.87 DDD/1,000 inhabitants/day (in 2005) to 8.35 DDD/1,000 inhabitants/day (in 2007). Total expenses of statins increased during the same period from LTL6.186 million in 2005 to LTL12.418 million in 2007. Approximately 68 percent of the estimated costs for statins in 2007 were for atorvastatin. Provided that the calculated reference prices were fixed, the estimated savings would amount to a minimum of LTL1.371 million per year and could reach yearly savings in the order of LTL3.163 million. The total expenses would drop by at least 11 percent, and the decrease in costs could be as high as 25 percent (€1 = LTL3.4528).Conclusions:Statins consumption is still very low in Lithuania in comparison with other European Union countries. Implementation of cholesterol education programs and changing reimbursement profile for statins therapy will increase consumption and expenditures. The introduction of reference-based pricing as an indirect cost control policy would help rationalizing the use of statins and their expenditures.
The process of updating the National List of Health Services in Israel: Is it legitimate? Is it fair?
Authors: Greenberg Dan , Siebzehner Miriam I. , Pliskin Joseph S. 
Published: July 2009

Objective:The Israeli National Health Insurance Law stipulates a National List of Health Services (NLHS) to which all residents are entitled from their HMOs. This list has been updated annually for almost a decade using a structured review and decision-making process. Although this process has been described in detail in previous papers, none of these have fully addressed legitimacy and fairness. We examine the legitimacy and fairness of the process of updating the NLHS in Israel.Methods:We assessed the priority-setting process for compliance with the four conditions of accountability for reasonableness outlined by Daniels and Sabin (relevance, publicity, appeals, and enforcement). These conditions emphasize transparency and stakeholder engagement in democratic deliberation.Results:Our analysis suggests that the Israeli process for updating the NLHS does not fulfill the appeals and enforcement conditions, and only partially follows the publicity and relevance conditions, outlined in the accountability for reasonableness framework. The main obstacles for achieving these goals may relate to the large number of technologies assessed each year within a short time frame, the lack of personnel engaged in health technology assessment, and the desire for early adoption of new technologies.Conclusions:The process of updating the NLHS in Israel is unique and not without merit. Changes in the priority-setting process should be made to increase its acceptability among the different stakeholders.
Differences in the identification process for new and emerging health technologies: Analysis of the EuroScan database
Authors: Ibargoyen-Roteta Nora , Gutierrez-Ibarluzea Iñaki , Benguria-Arrate Gaizka , Galnares-Cordero Lorea , Asua José 
Published: July 2009

Objectives:The aim of this study was to analyze the EuroScan Database and to describe and compare the characteristics of the included technologies and participating agencies.Methods:Data of interest were exported from the EuroScan Database to Excel and to SPSS. A descriptive analysis depending on the agency, type of technology, stage of diffusion, and technology purpose was conducted. A frequency distribution analysis of the diffusion stage for different technology types and assigned purposes was made with the EpiCalc 2000 statistical calculator. Apvalue of less than .05 was considered to be statistically significant.Results:Four agencies introduced the great majority of the technologies (81 percent), with drugs representing the 46.26 percent of the total, followed by devices (21.21 percent). The purpose of 24.45 percent of the identified technologies was not specified, and 34.58 percent of them were identified at the investigational or phase III stage. The frequency distribution of diffusion stage at identification was found to be similar for devices and diagnostics (p= .543), whereas drugs were identified earlier than devices (p&lt;.001). Some agencies were found to focus their work on drugs, whereas others focused mainly on devices. Interagency differences were also observed with regard to the stage of diffusion at which technologies were identified.Conclusions:This is the first analysis of one of the most important databases on new and emerging health technologies. Our study suggests that more active strategies should be designed to provide an earlier identification, mainly in the case of devices.
Home telehealth for chronic disease management: A systematic review and an analysis of economic evaluations
Authors: Polisena Julie , Coyle Doug , Coyle Kathryn , McGill Sarah 
Published: July 2009

Objectives:The research objectives were two-fold: first, to systematically review the literature on the cost-effectiveness of home telehealth for chronic diseases, and second to develop a framework for the conduct of economic evaluation of home telehealth projects for patients with chronic diseases.Methods:A comprehensive literature search identified twenty-two studies (n= 4,871 patients) on home telehealth for chronic diseases published between 1998 and 2008. Studies were reviewed in terms of their methodological quality and their conclusions.Results:Home telehealth was found to be cost saving from the healthcare system and insurance provider perspectives in all but two studies, but the quality of the studies was generally low. An evaluative framework was developed which provides a basis to improve the quality of future studies to facilitate improved healthcare decision making, and an application of the framework is illustrated using data from an existing program evaluation of a home telehealth program.Conclusions:Current evidence suggests that home telehealth has the potential to reduce costs, but its impact from a societal perspective remains uncertain until higher quality studies become available.
Comparative effectiveness research priorities: Identifying critical gaps in evidence for clinical and health policy decision making
Authors: Chalkidou Kalipso , Whicher Danielle , Kary Weslie , Tunis Sean 
Published: July 2009

Background:In the debate on improving the quality and efficiency of the United States healthcare system, comparative effectiveness research is increasingly seen as a tool for reducing costs without compromising outcomes. Furthermore, the recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act explicitly describes a prioritization function for establishing a comparative effectiveness research agenda. However, how such a function, in terms of methods and process, would go about identifying the most important priorities warranting further research has received little attention.Objectives:This study describes an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-funded pilot project to translate one current comparative effectiveness review into a prioritized list of evidence gaps and research questions reflecting the views of the healthcare decision makers involved in the pilot.Methods:To create a prioritized research agenda, we developed an interactive nominal group process that relied on a multistakeholder workgroup scoring a list of research questions on the management of coronary artery disease.Results:According to the group, the areas of greatest uncertainty regarding the management of coronary artery disease are the comparative effectiveness of medical therapy versus percutaneous coronary interventions versus coronary artery bypass grafting for different patient subgroups; the impact of diagnostic testing; and the most effective method of developing performance measures for providers.Conclusions:By applying our nominal group process, we were able to create a list of research priorities for healthcare decision makers. Future research should focus on refining this process because determining research priorities is essential to the success of developing an infrastructure for comparative effectiveness research.
Old age support in kind
Authors: MIYAZAWA KAZUTOSHI 
Published: July 2009

AbstractIt has been argued whether a transfer policy for elderly people should be in kind or in cash. This paper presents a rationale to answer the question in an endogenous growth model with a two-way intrafamily transfer in middle age, education for the child as an inter-vivos transfer, and informal parental care in exchange for a bequest. We have two analytical results. First, a transfer in cash, such as a public pension, prevents economic growth because a strategic behavior concerning caregiving generates a disincentive effect on education. Second, a transfer in kind, such as public formal care, promotes economic growth because the valuation of the service generates an additional benefit of education, which dominates the disincentive effect. Our results show that old age support should be in kind rather than in cash in the context of economic growth and also welfare if bequests are strategic.
Development of a drug–disease simulation model for rituximab in follicular non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma
Authors: Ternant David , Hénin Emilie , Cartron Guillaume , Tod Michel , Paintaud Gilles , Girard Pascal 
Published: July 2009

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT • Serum concentrations of rituximab influence its clinical efficacy in follicular lymphoma (FL), but its concentration–effect relationship has not been described by pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic (PK–PD) modelling.• The genetic polymorphism of FCGR3A influences rituximab efficacy and its in vitro concentration–effect relationship.• Increasing rituximab dose and/or number of infusions may lead to a better clinical response in FL. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS • This study is the first to describe the concentration–effect relationship of rituximab in populations of FL patients.• This PK–PD model relates progression‐free survival with rituximab concentrations and takes into account the influence of FCGR3A polymorphism.• Clinical trials testing new dosing regimens of rituximab can be designed using this PK–PD model.AIMRituximab has dramatically improved the survival of patients with non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), but the dosing regimen currently used should be optimized. However, the concentration–effect relationship of rituximab has never been described by pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic (PK–PD) modelling, precluding the simulation of new dosing regimens. The aim of this study was to develop a PK–PD model of rituximab in relapsed/resistant follicular NHL (FL).METHODSA model describing the relationship between rituximab concentrations and progression‐free survival (PFS) was developed using data extracted from the pivotal study, which evaluated 151 relapsed/resistant FL patients. The influence of FCGR3A genetic polymorphism on the efficacy of rituximab was quantified using data from 87 relapsed/resistant FL patients. The predictive performance of the model was analysed using two independent datasets: a study that evaluated rituximab combined with chemotherapy [rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, adriamycin and prednisone (R‐CHOP)] in 334 relapsed/resistant FL patients and a study that evaluated rituximab monotherapy in 47 asymptomatic FL patients with known FCGR3A genotype.RESULTSFor R‐CHOP, observed and model‐predicted PFS (90% confidence interval) at 24 months were 0.50 and 0.48 (0.40, 0.56), respectively, for the observation arm, and 0.62 and 0.59 (0.50, 0.65), respectively, for the rituximab maintenance arm. For rituximab monotherapy, observed and predicted PFS at 24 months were 0.67 and 0.63, respectively, for FCGR3A‐V/V patients, and 0.41 and 0.36 (0.25, 0.49), respectively, for FCGR3A‐F carriers.CONCLUSIONSOur model provides a satisfactory prediction of PFS at 24 months. It can be used to simulate new dosing regimens of rituximab in populations of FL patients and should improve the design of future clinical trials.