bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Mutans Streptococcal Colonization on Plaque Formation and Regrowth in Young Children – A Brief Communication
Authors: Lee Christian , Tinanoff Norman , Minah Glenn , Romberg Elaine 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
Objectives: Visible plaque on the maxillary anterior teeth of young children has been identified as a risk indicator for early childhood caries. The present study examined whether this plaque is related to the colonization of children's teeth with Mutans streptococci (MS) or toothbrushing frequency. Methods: Thirty‐nine children, aged 12 to 36 months, had plaque scores, and plaque samples were taken from the labial surfaces of the maxillary incisors at baseline and repeated 3 days after suspended oral hygiene (plaque regrowth). Results: A positive correlation was found between the baseline percent MS and regrowth plaque score and between baseline and regrowth plaque scores. Plaque scores of those that brushed zero to one time a day were not different from those who brushed two or more times a day. Conclusions: This study suggests that the presence of plaque on the anterior teeth of young children is consistent and related to MS colonization.
Oral Health Disparities in Children of Immigrants: Dental Caries Experience at Enrollment and during Follow‐Up in the New England Children's Amalgam Trial
Authors: Maserejian Nancy Nairi , Trachtenberg Felicia , Hayes Catherine , Tavares Mary 
Published: March 2008

AbstractObjectives: Previous research shows increased dental decay among immigrants, but little is known about the oral health of the growing population of children of immigrants. We compared the children of immigrants to the children of US‐born caregivers in their caries experience at enrollment and their new caries increments during the 5‐year New England Children's Amalgam Trial (NECAT).Methods: NECAT recruited 283 Boston‐area children aged 6 to 10 with untreated caries and offered free semiannual preventive and restorative dental care during the trial. Sociodemographic factors and caregiver immigrant status were assessed through interviews. Multivariate negative binomial models evaluated the association between caregiver immigrant status and clinically assessed carious surfaces.Results: Forty percent of these Boston‐area children had immigrant caregivers. At baseline, the children of immigrants had more carious surfaces (11.5 versus 9.4, adjusted for race/ethnicity, age, gender, and caregiver smoking status). Caregiver language preference explained some of this association. Immigrant status and language preference were not associated with 5‐year caries increments.Conclusions: Prevalent disparities in the unmet dental needs of the immigrants' children were quickly ameliorated during participation in NECAT. Dental initiatives that target neighborhoods and are sensitive to acculturation levels may help improve and maintain the oral health of immigrant families.
Integrating human resource planning with strategic planning
Authors: McQueen Jennifer 
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Human resource management, directly linked to operational and environmental forecasts, is a critical tool for public administrators as they respond to current difficult economic conditions. This paper describes new developments within the public service of Canada to improve the quality of human resource planning and to ensure its complete integration into the corporate planning system.Planning for human resources must start at the top when the major objectives of the organization are set. These objectives establish the framework within which the strategic plan and the operational plans must fit. The author describes the factors which contribute to the complexity of developing and administering human resource planning in the public service and the principal elements of the Policy and Expenditure Management System (PEMS). Then, a new system is described which is proposed to be introduced in the federal public service in 1985. Its purpose is the integration of human resource planning, including career planning, training and development, hiring and action to redress under‐representation, with operational and strategic planning. Its tools include attrition forecasting, environmental scanning, models of the organization under varying circumstances, occupational analysis and job definition, and it must be supported by data bases of considerable quality.In the Canadian public service it has become evident that the roles of the manager and personnel specialist must change if human resource planning is to work. Managers must be trained and able to foresee the human resource implications of their strategic and operational plans. The specialist must be able to provide information and analytical support needed to turn implications into valid, realistic long‐ and short‐term plans for the achievement of corporate goals through development and appointment of appropriate resources. Human resource plans must emanate from the basic objective of the organization set by the Chief Executive Officer and the executive team; they will succeed in direct proportion to the level of commitment and support awarded to them by Chief Executive Officers and the extent to which managers are held accountable for them.
The public service of Canada: the case for political neutrality
Authors: D'Aquino Thomas 
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Change is in the wind. There is an expectation that when the present leadership of the governing Liberal party passes from the scene and a transition to a Progressive Conservative or newly led Liberal government follows, sweeping changes at the top of the public service dl be the order of the day. The author welcomes a healthy dose of change — but change that is carefully thought through and orderly.He defends the concept of a permanent, professional, non‐partisan public service and points out how the doctrine of political neutrality has been eroded. He argues for a return to a stricter adherence to the anonymity principle and to a reaffirmation of merit as the benchmark of appointments.In seeking to strengthen the accountability of the public service to the executive, the author rejects partisan appointments to the public service in favour of appointed senior policy advisors. He proposes buttressing the role of individual advisors with a partisan research and policy analysis unit of some ten to fifteen people reporting directly to the Prime Minister and the cabinet as a whole. He suggests the upgrading of the research apparatuses of political parties themselves. Finally, he underscores the vital role that Parliament could play in exacting public service accountability.The author concludes that the federal public service in its central characteristics should be preserved, and that changes should be aimed inure in the direction of the restoration of the basic principles that have guided it in the past.
Phases of recognition and management of financial crisis in public organizations
Authors: Jones L. R. 
Published: March 2008

Abstract: This article provides a model of the manner in which public organizations recognize and attempt to manage financial crises and prolonged financial stress. It presents some cutback management options and provides an approach for assessing the severity of financial crises. Issues and management approaches discussed include program reduction and termination costs and benefits, organizational planning, evaluation and decision participation, centralization of decision‐making and improvement of public sector marketing.Among the conclusions drawn are that (a) greater investment in market research and marketing is needed in the public sector; (b) management of financial crises must take into account the rigidities arid constraints which characterize bureaucratic organizations; and (c) inability to adapt to environmental change aid new social conditions reduces the probability of survival for public agencies.Sommaire: Cet article fournit un modèle de la façon dont les organismes publics admettent l'esistence de crises financières oil de contraitites inonétaires prolongées et essaierit d'y faire face. Il présente certaines options de retranchement ainsi qu'une approche permettant d'évaiuer la gravité des crises financières. Les problèmes et les concepts de gestion envisagés incluent l'analyse coût‐bénéfice de la réduction et de l'annulation des programmes, la planification organisationnelle, l'évaluation et la décision participative, la centralisation de la prise de décision et l'amélioration du marketing.Parmi les conclusions qu'en tire l'auteur, citons le hesoin d'un plus grand investissement dans la recherche et le marketing pour le secteur public, la nécessité de traiter et de gérer les crises financières en fonction des rigidités et des contraintes qui caractérisent les organisations bureaucratiques et, finalement, la conscience que l'incapacitéà s'adapter aux changements de l'environnement et aux nouvelles conditions sociales réduit les chances de survie de ces organismes publics
The ombudsman in France
Authors: Rowat Donald C. 
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Though France and the United Kingdom are the most populous countries with a legislative ombudsman at the national level, little has been written in English ahout the French plan. Created in 1973, it resembles the British scheme for the central administration, in that coinplaints must he forwarded to the ombudsman (Médiateur) by members of Parliament. The French plan has been more successful than the British one, and hence ought to lw studied by other populous countries considering such a plan. It differs from the British scheme in several important respects, three of its unique features being its political nature. its decentralization and its reform orientation. However, a comparison of the total number of coinplaints received by the plan in France with that in countries where complaints are made directly‐ indicates that, as in the United Kingdom, the requirement for complaints to be made through legislators has been a serious restriction, and has prevented the plan from meeting a large part of the need.Sommaire: Bien que la France et le Royaume‐Uni soient les pays les plus peuplés àêtre dotés d'um médiateur législatif (ombudsman) au niveau national, le système françis n'a pas suscité heaucoup de commentaires de la part des auteurs anglophones. Créé en 1973. ce systéme ressemble à celui instauné au Royaume‐Uni pour l'administration centrale en ce que les plaintes doivent être transmises au médiateur par l'intermédiaire des députés. Le système français a connu plus de succès que le Lritannique et mérite par conéquent d'être étudié par d'autres pays à haute derisité démographique qui envisageraient un tel systéme. Il differe du inodèle britannique par certains aspects importants, ses trois caractéristiques particulières étant sa nature politique. sa décentralisation et son orientation réformatrice. Toutefois, une comparaison entre le nombre total de plaintes enregistrées dans Ic cadre du système fiançais et le nombre de plaintes déposées dans les pays où l'on a adopté la façon directe de procéder démontre que comme au Royaume‐Unit, l'intermédiaire qu'est le député constitue un obstacle important qui empêche le système fraiçais de répidre à une grande partie des hesoins.
Virtual microscopy as a practical alternative to conventional microscopy in pathology education
Authors: Kim Min Hyung , Park Youngwoon , Seo Donghee , Lim Yu Jin , Kim Dong‐Il , Kim Chul Woo , Kim Woo Ho 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACT Background and aims: Laboratory education on pathology for undergraduate medical student has traditionally been conducted by using analog microscopy on glass slides with standard pathological cases. Virtual microscopy was recently introduced as an alternative to conventional microscopy, but there are issues surrounding its in the educational context. Methods: We introduced virtual microscopy in a pathology laboratory class, as an addition to analog microscopy. One hundred and sixty first year‐medical students were surveyed using preformed or free questions after use of both virtual and conventional microscopy. Results: Many advantages were noticed and students strongly favored virtual microscopy. Most students reported that use of the virtual microscope can significantly improve performance and learning efficiency. The three most significant advantages of virtual microscopy were freedom from optical stress, better image quality and time saving. Less advantageous points were inconvenient slide selection, less vivid feeling of examining and that the technique was not useful for finding artifacts such as foreign bodies. Although they could save time by using virtual microscopy, more students remained longer in the laboratory room when they used virtual microscopy. Conclusion: Virtual microscopy was accepted by students as an excellent tool to facilitate learning. We believe that virtual microscope is an excellent tool for pathology laboratory education.
Rabies in a Puppy Imported from India to the USA, March 2007
Authors: Castrodale L. , Walker V. , Baldwin J. , Hofmann J. , Hanlon C. 
Published: March 2008

SummaryIn March 2007, a puppy that was recently imported from India into the United States was found to be positive for rabies by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. This case report highlights several important public health issues. First, recognizing that humans and animals are part of a global community with frequent travel and translocation, the risks of disease introduction, particularly with sub‐clinical or incubating animals, are real and present. Animal‐importation regulations, policies and practices are intended to minimize these risks and should be routinely evaluated and updated as needed in response to occurrences such as detailed in this communication. Second, veterinarians play key roles in safeguarding the public’s health with regard to monitoring the movement of animals and diagnosing zoonoses. Third, investigating rabies cases that involve multiple jurisdictions are labour‐intensive and require significant resources to ensure that all potentially exposed persons are identified and receive the appropriate rabies post‐exposure prophylaxis.
Feeding Supplemental Dried Distiller’s Grains Increases Faecal Shedding of Escherichia coli O157 in Experimentally Inoculated Calves
Authors: Jacob M. E. , Parsons G. L. , Shelor M. K. , Fox J. T. , Drouillard J. S. , Thomson D. U. , Renter D. G. , Nagaraja T. G. 
Published: March 2008

Summary Escherichia coli O157 is an important foodborne pathogen and asymptomatic cattle serve as major reservoirs for human infection. We have shown a positive association between feeding distiller’s grains and E. coli O157 prevalence in feedlot cattle. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of feeding dried distiller’s grain (DDG) on faecal shedding of E. coli O157 in calves experimentally inoculated with E. coli O157. Holstein calves (five per treatment group), fed steam‐flaked corn‐based high‐grain diets supplemented with 0% (control) or 25% DDG, were orally inoculated with a five‐strain mixture (6 × 109 CFU/calf) of nalidixic acid‐resistant (NalR) E. coli O157. Faecal samples were taken three times per week for 6 weeks to determine the prevalence and concentration of NalRE. coli O157. At the end of the study (day 43), calves were euthanized and necropsied. Ruminal, caecum, colon, and rectal contents, and rectoanal mucosal swab (RAMS) samples were collected at necropsy to determine NalRE. coli O157 concentration. There was a trend for an interaction between treatment and faecal sampling day. The concentration of NalRE. coli O157 in the faeces was significantly higher in faecal samples from calves fed DDG compared with control calves on days 35, 37, 39 and 42. At necropsy, the concentration of NalRE. coli O157 was higher in the caecum (P = 0.01), colon (P = 0.03) and rectum (P = 0.01) from calves fed DDG compared with control animals. The number of sites at necropsy positive for NalRE. coli O157 was higher in calves fed DDG compared with calves in the control treatment (P < 0.001). Our results indicate that E. coli O157 gut persistence and faecal prevalence increased in calves fed DDG, which potentially have important implications for food safety.
Heat
Transfer During Compression and Expansion of
Gas
Authors: Ota Masutaka , Haramura Yoshihiko 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
Heat transfer during compression and expansion of gas is investigated to obtain a correlation that is easy to use in the design of the reciprocating energy conversion machines. We carried out experiments to measure the heat transfer characteristics to̸from gas during compression and expansion to obtain the correlation. These measurements were performed using a piston-cylinder assembly over a range of volume ratios, frequencies, mean pressures, gases, and internal extended surface areas. The heat transfer was estimated thermodynamically from experimental pressure-volume data. Dimensionless groups for heat transfer are discussed in order to correlate the data. The product of the dimensionless heat transfer and specific heat ratio was found to be optimal and was correlated with only the Peclet number for a wide range of conditions, even for gases having different specific heat ratios. The temperature amplitude of the center of the test space was obtained, and it is found that the penetration depth reached the center when the Peclet number is in the range from 20 to 30.
Sheathless Mutant of Cyanobacterium
Gloeothece
sp. Strain PCC 6909 with Increased Capacity To Remove Copper Ions from Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Micheletti Ernesto , Pereira Sara , Mannelli Francesca , Moradas-Ferreira Pedro , Tamagnini Paula , De Philippis Roberto 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACT

The cyanobacterium
Gloeothece
sp. strain PCC 6909 and its sheathless mutant were tested for their abilities to remove copper ions from aqueous solutions, with the aim of defining the role of the various outermost polysaccharidic investments in the removal of the metal ions. Microscopy studies and chemical analyses revealed that, although the mutant does not possess a sheath, it releases large amounts of polysaccharidic material (released exocellular polysaccharides [RPS]) into the culture medium. The RPS of the wild type and the mutant are composed of the same 11 sugars, although they are present in different amounts, and the RPS of the mutant possesses a larger amount of acidic sugars and a smaller amount of deoxysugars than the wild type. Unexpectedly, whole cultures of the mutant were more effective in the removal of the heavy metal than the wild type (46.3 ± 3.1 and 26.7 ± 1.5 mg of Cu
2+
removed per g of dry weight, respectively). Moreover, we demonstrated that the contribution of the sheath to the metal-removal capacity of the wild type is scarce and that the RPS of the mutant is more efficient in removing copper. This suggests that the metal ions are preferably bound to the cell wall and to RPS functional groups rather than to the sheath. Therefore, the increased copper binding efficiency observed with the sheathless mutant can be attributed to the release of a polysaccharide containing larger amounts and/or more accessible functional groups (e.g., carboxyl and amide groups).
Prognostic and predictive factors in colorectal cancer
Authors: Zlobec I , Lugli A 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
Prognostication of newly diagnosed colorectal cancer (CRC) predominantly relies on stage as defined by the UICC-TNM and American Joint Committee on Cancer classifications. Tumour extent, lymph node status, tumour grade and the assessment of lymphatic and venous invasion are still the most important morphological prognostic factors. Evidence suggests that tumour budding and tumour border configuration are important, additional histological parameters but are not regarded as essential in prognosis. Although several molecular features, such as LOH18q and TP53 mutation analysis, have shown promising results in terms of their prognostic value, the American Society of Clinical Oncology Tumor Markers Expert Panel does not currently recommend their use in routine practice. cDNA-microarray, PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridisation are now frequently used to identity potential prognostic indicators in CRC, but the applicability of these methods in routine use is likely to have limited impact. Reliable prognostic markers identified by immunohistochemical protein profiling have yet to be established. Randomisation of data sets, assessment of interobserver variability for protein markers and scoring systems, as well as the use of receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in combination with multimarker-phenotype analysis of several different markers may be an effective tactical approach to increase the value of immunohistochemical findings. This article reviews the well established and additional prognostic factors in CRC and explores the contribution of molecular studies to the prognostication of patients with this disease. Additionally, an approach to improve the prognostic value of immunohistochemical protein markers is proposed.
Feature Forest Models for Probabilistic HPSG Parsing
Authors: Miyao Yusuke , Tsujii Jun'ichi 
Published: March 2008

Probabilistic modeling of lexicalized grammars is difficult because these grammars exploit complicated data structures, such as typed feature structures. This prevents us from applying common methods of probabilistic modeling in which a complete structure is divided into sub-structures under the assumption of statistical independence among sub-structures. For example, part-of-speech tagging of a sentence is decomposed into tagging of each word, and CFG parsing is split into applications of CFG rules. These methods have relied on the structure of the target problem, namely lattices or trees, and cannot be applied to graph structures including typed feature structures. This article proposes the feature forest model as a solution to the problem of probabilistic modeling of complex data structures including typed feature structures. The feature forest model provides a method for probabilistic modeling without the independence assumption when probabilistic events are represented with feature forests. Feature forests are generic data structures that represent ambiguous trees in a packed forest structure. Feature forest models are maximum entropy models defined over feature forests. A dynamic programming algorithm is proposed for maximum entropy estimation without unpacking feature forests. Thus probabilistic modeling of any data structures is possible when they are represented by feature forests. This article also describes methods for representing HPSG syntactic structures and predicate-argument structures with feature forests. Hence, we describe a complete strategy for developing probabilistic models for HPSG parsing. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is empirically evaluated through parsing experiments on the Penn Treebank, and the promise of applicability to parsing of real-world sentences is discussed.