bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Two‐Level Hierarchical Transportation Networks: A New Set of Problems and Practical Applications*
Authors: Singhal Jaya 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThis paper defines and solves a set of new problems for two‐level hierarchical transportation networks. Given a set of points, the objective is to find the path of a primary link such that a weighted sum of the lengths of the perpendiculars from each point to the primary link and the distance between the feet of the two extreme perpendiculars is minimized. The perpendiculars are the connecting or secondary links and the primary link could be a straight line or a curve. The paper provides an algorithm and computational results for the case in which the primary link is a straight line. Implementation approaches are also discussed.
Preference‐Order Recursion for Finding Relevant Pure, Admissible and Optimal Statistical Decision Functions*
Authors: Moskowitz Herbert , Wallenius Jyrki 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTA preference‐order recursion algorithm for obtaining a relevant subset of pure, admissible (non‐dominated, efficient) decision functions which converges towards an optimal solution in statistical decision problems is proposed. The procedure permits a decision maker to interactively express strong binary preferences for partial decision functions at each stage of the recursion, from which an imprecise probability and/or utility function is imputed and used as one of several pruning mechanisms to obtain a reduced relevant subset of admissible decision functions or to converge on an optimal one. The computational and measurement burden is thereby mitigated significantly, for example, by not requiring explicit or full probability and utility information from the decision maker. The algorithm is applicable to both linear and nonlinear utility functions. The results of behavioral and computational experimentation show that the approach is viable, efficient, and robust.
Interactive Effects of Major Response Facilitators
Authors: Bruvold Norman T. , Comer James M. , Rospert Ann M. 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTPractitioners and researchers have long been interested in achieving the highest response rate within resource constraints on their mailed surveys. Achieving this high response rate typically has required the selection of the right mix of response‐facilitating techniques. The selection decisions were generally made under the assumption that the response‐facilitating techniques act independently of one another. The authors have examined the validity of this independence assumption by identifying the major response facilitators in use and then analyzing the results of 531 independent mail survey studies. The authors conclude that major facilitators do not function independently. In fact, it was found that significant joint action interactive effects on response rates do exist. Practitioners and researchers who are faced with the survey design decisions of choosing response facilitators can receive assistance by reviewing the results of this diverse collection of reported experiences.
Some Analytical Results for a Two‐Product Newsboy Problem
Authors: Li Jing , Lau Hon‐Shiang , Lau Amy Hing‐Ling 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTA recent Decision Sciences paper considered maximizing the probability of achieving a profit target in a two‐product newsboy problem. Numerical solutions to this problem revealed some intriguing properties, but the authors were unable to analytically explain many of their results. This paper presents an analytical solution procedure to this problem for the case of uniformly distributed demands. The analytical structure reveals more intriguing properties and these properties are proven and explained.
Insignificant Betas and the Efficacy of the Sharpe Diagonal Model for Portfolio Selection*
Authors: Frankfurter George M. , Lamoureux Christopher G. 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTWhen both practitioners and theorists apply Sharpe's diagonal model [15] to simplify the portfolio selection problem, they assume that the entire covariation structure of each stock (i.e., with all other stocks) is captured in that stock's covariance with the market (or β). Furthermore, it is well known that the selection algorithm itself has a marked tendency to select stocks with the lowest βs, ceteris paribus. When a stock's β is statistically indistinguishable from zero, it is an empirical issue whether the market model is (a) less appropriate for that particular stock relative to those with statistically significant βs; or is (b) a viable model in that the covariance of this stock's rate‐of‐return with all other stocks' rates‐of‐return vanishes. The objective of this paper is to distinguish empirically between (a) and (b), and to propose a heuristic which will improve the ex‐post performance of the diagonal model. The possible benefits of this heuristic are also demonstrated in a rigorous statistical framework.
A Unique Solution for the Nucleolus in Accounting Allocations*
Authors: Barton Thomas L. 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThe nucleolus method has been suggested in the literature as a means for accounting decision makers to allocate joint costs in situations where entities share a common resource. The nucleolus has the advantage, vis‐à‐vis other methods, of maximizing the benefit to the least‐well‐off entity or groups of entities, and therefore reducing the possibility that one or more entities may desire to withdraw from the sharing arrangement. The nucleolus is basically a linear programming model. Because of its formulation, the nucleolus may yield multiple optimal solutions. No reformulation of the nucleolus seems to exist to overcome this problemThe minimum total propensity to disrupt (MTPD) is suggested as an extension of the nucleolus to identify unique values for allocations with multiple solutions. The MTPD, while exhibiting deficiencies as a stand‐alone method, is similar in overall objective to the nucleolus and its mathematical function possesses a unique minimum. It is therefore the logical method for identifying a unique nucleolus solution. The use of the MTPD extension is critically examined through a representative application.
Knowledge Representation and Reasoning in a Real‐Time Operational Control System: The Shipboard Piloting Expert System (SPES)*
Authors: Grabowski Martha , Sanborn Steve 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a knowledge representation approach and reasoning implementation in a real‐time knowledge‐based control system (KBCS) for navigating ships in restricted waters. This shipboard piloting expert system (SPES) is being developed as an intelligent node in Sperry Marine's ExxBridge integrated ship's bridge system (IBS) for Exxon Shipping Company tankers. The SPES is intended to provide decision support to ships' navigation officers while piloting large vessels in restricted waters, and to reduce the information overload under which they labor, by incorporating local, transit‐specific, and shiphandling knowledge, and by providing requisite decision support in a timely fashion. As such, the system provides decision support to (1) senior ships' pilots training junior pilots; (2) ships' masters training junior deck officers in the essentials of good piloting and shiphandling; and (3) watchstanding deck officers utilizing the system's on‐line reminder and assist capabilities, or off‐line simulation and contingency planning functionality.
An Application of Markov Chain Analysis to the Game of Squash*
Authors: Broadie Mark , Joneja Dev 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTIf the score in a squash game is tied late in the game, one player has a choice of how many additional points (from a prespecified set of possibilities) are to be played to determine the winner. This paper constructs a Markov chain model of the situation and solves for the optimal strategy. Expressions for the optimal strategy are obtained with a symbolic algebra computer package. Results are given for both international and American scoring systems. The model and analysis are very suitable for educational purposes. The resulting Markov chain is small enough that it can be easily presented in a classroom setting, yet the model is sufficiently complex that algebraic manipulation is nearly hopeless. The final results illustrate the power of the combination of mathematical and computer modeling applied to a problem of practical interest.
The Impact of Poor Performance on Risk‐Taking Attitudes: A Longitudinal Study with a PLS Causal Modeling Approach
Authors: Lee Don Y. 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThis article addresses some important issues in risk‐return, or mean‐variance, research. Much of the research in this tradition has used Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory to explain Bowman's proposition that “troubled firms” prefer and seek risk. Unfortunately, two key constructs in prospect theory, reference point and risk attitude, have not been applied in risk‐return research in ways consistent with prospect theory. The author examines a series of inconsistencies in the use of prospect theory in risk‐return research to date and suggests remedies. A proposed approach using a longitudinal research design at the individual‐firm level is applied in an empirical test of the Bowman hypothesis with data from brewing firms in the United States. The findings strongly support the Bowman hypothesis.
An Empirical Study of the Impact of Just‐in‐Time Task Scope Versus Just‐in‐Time Workflow Integration on Organizational Design
Authors: Germain Richard , Dröge Cornelia 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThe research tests a theory of JIT as a technology having task scope versus workflow integration dimensions. The results show that JIT task scope predicts JIT workflow integration, and that only the former is associated with organizational designs that are more specialized, decentralized, integrated, and reliant on formal performance measurement control. The findings imply that organizational structure does not necessarily follow from workflow structure. Rather, both organizational structure and workflow structure follow from the knowledge capital that JIT task scope represents.
An Evolutionary Algorithm for Sequencing Production on a Paced Assembly Line
Authors: Sumichrast Robert T. , Oxenrider Keith A. , Clayton Edward R. 
Published: June 2007

A new sequencing method for mixed‐model assembly lines is developed and tested. This method, called the Evolutionary Production Sequencer (EPS) is designed to maximize production on an assembly line. The performance of EPS is evaluated using three measures: minimum cycle time necessary to achieve 100% completion without rework, percent of items completed without rework for a given cycle time, and sequence “smoothness.” The first two of these measures are based on a simulated production system. Characteristics of the system, such as assembly line station length, assembly time and cycle time, are varied to better gauge the performance of EPS. More fundamental variation is studied by modeling two production systems. In one set of tests, the system consists of an assembly line in isolation (i.e., a single‐level system). In another set of tests, the production system consists of the assembly line and the fabrication system supplying components to the line (i.e., a two‐level system). Sequence smoothness is measured by the mean absolute deviation (MAD) between actual component usage and the ideal usage at each point in the production sequence.The performance of EPS is compared to those of well‐known assembly line sequencing techniques developed by Miltenburg (1989), Okamura and Yamashina (1979), and Yano and Rachamadugu (1991). EPS performed very well under all test conditions when the criterion of success was either minimum cycle time necessary to achieve 100% production without rework or percent of items completed without rework for a given cycle time. When MAD was the criterion of success, EPS was found inferior to the Miltenburg heuristic but better than the other two production‐oriented techniques.
The Impact of Imperfect Processes on Production Run Times
Authors: Boone Tonya , Ganeshan Ram , Guo Yuanming , Ord J. Keith 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the interaction between the economics of production and imperfections in the production process. Specifically, this paper is the first to devise a model in an attempt to provide managers with guidelines to choose the appropriate production run times to buffer against both the production of defective items and stoppages occurring due to machine breakdowns. In addition to providing several structural properties of the model, we show that a manager will always incur a cost penalty when (s)he uses the results of two oft‐cited models‐the EMQ (Economic Order/Manufacturing Quantity) and the NR‐E (No‐Resumption, Exponential machine breakdown)‐to determine production run times.
Information Technology Acceptance by Individual Professionals: A Model Comparison Approach*
Authors: Chau Patrick Y. K. , Hu Paul Jen‐Hwa 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe proliferation of innovative and exciting information technology applications that target individual “professionals” has made the examination or re‐examination of existing technology acceptance theories and models in a “professional” setting increasingly important. The current research represents a conceptual replication of several previous model comparison studies. The particular models under investigation are the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and a decomposed TPB model, potentially adequate in the targeted healthcare professional setting. These models are empirically examined and compared, using the responses to a survey on telemedicine technology acceptance collected from more than 400 physicians practicing in public tertiary hospitals in Hong Kong. Results of the study highlight several plausible limitations of TAM and TPB in explaining or predicting technology acceptance by individual professionals. In addition, findings from the study also suggest that instruments that have been developed and repeatedly tested in previous studies involving end users and business managers in ordinary business settings may not be equally valid in a professional setting. Several implications for technology acceptance/adoption research and technology management practices are discussed.
Expression of dicarbonyl/l‐xylulose reductase (DCXR) in human skin and melanocytic lesions: morphological studies supporting cell adhesion function of DCXR
Authors: Cho‐Vega Jeong Hee , Vega Francisco , Schwartz Mary R. , Prieto Victor G. 
Published: June 2007

Background:  It has been proposed that dicarbonyl/l‐xylulose reductase (DCXR) is increased in prostate cancer. Also, when compared with normal skin, a virtual northern blot shows increased expression of DCXR in melanomas.Methods:  We investigated DCXR expression in a tissue microarray, with 20 benign and 33 malignant melanocytic lesions and possible colocalization of DCXR with cell adhesion molecules using double immunofluorescence/confocal microscopy in normal human skin.Results:  Most nevi expressed DCXR in the cytoplasmic membrane, but some melanomas (20–30%) showed loss of membranous expression with inappropriate cytoplasmic or nuclear expression. Perinuclear Golgi expression was found in primary (14%) and metastatic (32%) melanomas showing dishesive growth pattern. Overall, the intensity of expression was stronger in nevi compared with melanomas (p < 0.005). In normal skin, DCXR was colocalized with E‐cadherin and β‐catenin at the intercellular membranes of keratinocytes and with CD31 at the intercellular junctions of endothelial cells. DCXR was localized in the cytoplasmic membrane of normal melanocytes.Conclusions:  These findings indicate that decreased membranous expression of DCXR with altered subcellular localization appears to be associated with malignant progression of melanocytic lesions. We show for the first time the expression of DCXR in normal keratinocytes, melanocytes and endothelial cells.
Cutaneous manifestations of Wegener’s granulomatosis: a clinicopathologic study of 17 patients and correlation to antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody status
Authors: Comfere Nneka I. , Macaron Nada C. , Gibson Lawrence E. 
Published: June 2007

Background:  Wegener’s granulomatosis (WG), a systemic vasculitis, can be associated with cutaneous signs and symptoms before, during or after the diagnosis of systemic disease.Methods:  We reviewed clinical and histologic features of cutaneous lesions from 17 patients with WG. The temporal relationship between development of cutaneous symptoms and onset of systemic disease was determined, and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) status of the patients was also established.Results:  In six patients, systemic and cutaneous disease developed concurrently. In eight patients, cutaneous disease developed after patients received the diagnosis of systemic disease. In three patients, cutaneous disease preceded systemic disease. Cytoplasmic ANCA or proteinase‐3‐ANCA [c‐ANCA/proteinase 3 (PR3)‐ANCA] serologic test results were negative for one patient when cutaneous disease developed, and one patient had c‐ANCA/PR3‐ANCA seroconversion a year before systemic disease developed. Histopathologic features of cutaneous WG were not limited to leukocytoclastic vasculitis; they also included acneiform perifollicular and dermal granulomatous inflammation and palisaded neutrophilic and granulomatous inflammation.Conclusions:  Patients with WG can present initially with cutaneous symptoms. Histopathologic patterns vary, but leukocytoclastic vasculitis is most commonly noted. Patients with WG and skin lesions are likely to have positive c‐ANCA/PR3‐ANCA serologic test results.
Subcutaneous ossifying lipoma: case report and review of the literature
Authors: Val‐Bernal J. Fernando , Val Daniel , Garijo M. Francisca , Vega Alfonso , González‐Vela M. Carmen 
Published: June 2007

Background:  Lipomas can undergo a variety of changes, one of which is ossification. Ossifying lipoma (OL), independent of bone tissue, is rare. No case has been reported with this heading in the dermatopathological literature.Case Report:  A 73‐year‐old woman was referred for a subcutaneous mass on the left scapular region that had been present for more than 22 years.Results:  The lesion was an OL measuring 8 cm and weighing 75 g. Only 25 cases of OL have been described in soft tissues. Including the present report, locations in order of frequency are the head and neck area (11 cases), the limbs (9 cases) and the trunk (6 cases). Average patient age is 50.9 years (range, 17–81 years). History is measured in years (mean, more than 6 years). Average tumor size is 7.1 cm (range, 0.8–20 cm). The adipose component is usually predominant and the mature bone tissue is irregular in distribution. Bone spicules are surrounded by fibrous tissue bands. Chondrous structures are found in 46.2% of tumors. No recurrences have been reported.Conclusions:  OL is rare but has a characteristic gross, radiological and histological appearance. It has the same prognosis as simple lipoma. Excision is the treatment to be chosen.
Pseudoxanthoma elasticum‐like fibers in the inflamed skin of patients without pseudoxanthoma elasticum
Authors: Bowen Anneli R. , Götting Christian , LeBoit Philip E. , McCalmont Timothy H. 
Published: June 2007

Background:  Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is an inherited disorder leading to characteristic calcified elastic fibers in skin, eyes and vasculature. PXE‐like fibers have not been described in inflammatory skin disease in the absence of other signs of PXE.Methods:  The histopathology of inflamed skin from 13 patients that contained PXE‐like fibers but lacked clinical evidence of PXE were studied. Six of these and six comparison specimens from known patients with PXE were subjected to polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of exons 24 and 28 of the PXE‐associated gene ABCC6. This genetic analysis employed a novel assay utilizing paraffin‐embedded tissue.Results:  Incidental PXE‐like fibers were found in patients without clinical suspicion of PXE in lesional tissue showing lipodermatosclerosis, granuloma annulare, lichen sclerosus, morphea profunda, erythema nodosum, septal panniculitis, basal cell carcinoma and fibrosing dermatitis. Two patients with PXE‐like fibers but without clinical findings of PXE were heterozygous for a PXE‐associated ABCC6 sequence alteration.Conclusions:  This pilot study shows elastic fibers similar to those of PXE in the lesional skin of patients with a variety of inflammatory skin diseases in the absence of clinical evidence of PXE; and some of these patients harbor changes in ABCC6.
Spindle cell hemangioma: report of a case presenting in the oral cavity
Authors: Sheehan Michael , Roumpf Sheila O. , Summerlin Don‐John , Billings Steven D. 
Published: June 2007

Background:  Spindle cell hemangioma, formerly termed spindle cell hemangioendothelioma, is an uncommon benign vascular tumor. Presentation in the oral cavity is rare with only two previously reported cases.Methods:  We report a case of spindle cell hemangioma that presented as an asymptomatic mass of the buccal mucosa in a 44‐year‐old man.Results:  The tumor was a well‐circumscribed vascular proliferation of spindled to epithelioid endothelial cells. Tumor cells with intracytoplasmic vascular lumens were present in several areas. Larger, ectatic, thin‐walled vessels lined by a single layer of flattened endothelial cells were evident at the periphery and focally in more cellular areas. The tumor was positive for CD31 and CD34.Conclusions:  Spindle cell hemangioma rarely presents in the oral cavity and needs to be considered in the differential diagnosis of oral cavity vascular tumors to avoid misdiagnosis as a more aggressive vascular tumor.
Effects of an Anti‐TNF‐α Monoclonal Antibody, Administered Throughout Pregnancy and Lactation, on the Development of the Macaque Immune System
Authors: Martin Pauline L. , Oneda Satoru , Treacy George 
Published: June 2007

Problem  The use of anti‐TNF‐α therapies during pregnancy and lactation on the development of the neonatal immune system has not been fully established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether treatment of macaques with an anti‐TNF‐α monoclonal antibody (golimumab) during pregnancy and lactation would result in defects in the developing immune system.Method of study  Pregnant macaques were treated with golimumab during pregnancy and lactation. Immune system development was evaluated by histopathology, lymphocyte subset analysis and functional challenging of the infant immune system (humoral immune response to KLH and TTX, and DTH skin reaction).Results  In utero and postnatal exposure to golimumab had no effect on T and B cell populations in blood and lymphoid tissues and did not impair the ability of the infants to mount an immune response to antigen challenge.Conclusion  Treatment of pregnant macaques with golimumab throughout pregnancy and lactation did not affect the development and maturation of the immune system in the offspring.
When the Facts Get in the Way of a Story
Authors: Goldacre Ben 
Published: June 2007

Abstract
Earlier this year the Royal Statistical Society announced the results of its first-ever competition for journalists. Rules were simple: the written or broadcast piece had to be on a statistical theme, aimed at the general public, and it had to have appeared during 2006. From a field of nearly 50 entries, the winner, judged by a panel of statisticians, Members of Parliament and others, was this piece by Guardian writer Ben Goldacre. It first appeared in his “Bad Science” column in The Guardian on April 1st, 2006. Significance, part of whose role is also to spread knowledge of statistics to a wider audience, is proud to reproduce it here.