bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
FACTORIZATION OF MONOMORPHISMS OF A POLYNOMIAL ALGEBRA IN ONE VARIABLE
Authors: BAVULA V. V. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractLet K[x] be a polynomial algebra in a variable x over a commutative $\Q$-algebra K, and Γ′ the monoid of K-algebra monomorphisms of K[x] of the type σ: x ↦ x+λ2x2 + . . . +λnxn, λi ∈ K, λn is a unit of K. It is proved that for each σ ∈ Γ′ there are only finitely many distinct decompositions σ = σ1. . .σs in Γ′. Moreover, each such decomposition is uniquely determined by the degrees of components: if σ = σ1. . . σs= τ1 . . . τs then σ1=τ1, λ. . ., σs=τs if and only if deg(σ1)=deg(τ1), . . ., deg(σs)=deg(τs). Explicit formulae are given for the components σi via the coefficients λj and the degrees deg(σk) (as an application of the inversion formula for polynomial automorphisms in several variables from [1]). In general, for a polynomial there are no formulae (in radicals) for its divisors (elementary Galois theory). Surprisingly, one can write such formulae where instead of the product of polynomials one considers their composition (as polynomial functions).
‘Women and Children First’: Gender, Norms, and Humanitarian Evacuation in the Balkans 1991–95
Authors: Carpenter R. Charli 
Published: April 2008

AbstractOf all noncombatants in the former Yugoslavia, adult civilian men were most likely to be massacred by enemy forces. Why, therefore, did international agencies mandated with the “protection of civilians” evacuate women and children, but not military-age men, from besieged areas? This article reviews the operational dilemmas faced by protection workers in the former Yugoslavia when negotiating access to civilian populations. I argue that a social constructivist approach incorporating gender analysis is required to explain both the civilian protection community's discourse and its operational behavior. First, gender beliefs constitute the discursive strategies on which civilian protection advocacy is based. Second, gender norms operate in practice to constrain the options available to protection workers in assisting civilians. These two causal pathways converged in the former Yugoslavia to produce effects disastrous to civilians, particularly adult men and male adolescents.
Same War—Different Views: Germany, Japan, and Counterterrorism
Authors: Katzenstein Peter J. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractGerman and Japanese counterterrorism policies differ from those adopted by the United States as well as from one another. Defeated in war, occupied, and partially remade during the Cold War, Germany and Japan became clients of the United States first, then close allies. Both countries offer easy tests to explore the extent to which the United States can hope to fight the war against terrorism, as it did the Cold War, supported by a broad coalition of like-minded states. On this central point the article's conclusion is not reassuring. In contrast to the Cold War, the relative importance of different self-conceptions and institutional practices appears to be larger and the systemic effects constraining national divergences smaller. Even among the closest allies of the United States, the very early stages of the war against terrorism point to substantial strains. Over a prolonged period such strains are likely to affect profoundly long-standing patterns of alliance.
Generation of hydrogen peroxide by a low molecular weight compound in whey of Holstein dairy cows
Authors: Sakai Senkiti , Satow Takahiro , Imakawa Kazuhiko , Nagaoka Kentaro 
Published: April 2008

Using an ultrafiltration membrane (molecular cut-off, 3000), low molecular weight compounds in bovine milk were collected (YM-3 filtrate). A hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-like substance was generated in the YM-3 filtrate. This substance was undetected at 0 h, but increased in a time-dependent manner, peaking after 2 h of incubation at 38°C. After incubating the YM-3 filtrate with catalase and lactoperoxidase, the signal showing the presence of this substance disappeared. The substance was quantified using one chemiluminescence and three colorimetric H2O2detection systems. In all systems, their estimates were within the same range. The amount of substance, as estimated by the chemiluminescence H2O2detection system, was correlated with that estimated by the other three colorimetric systems (r=0·98, 0·95 and 0·87). The substance was eluted at the same position as H2O2by gel filtration on Superdex 30. Thus, the substance had the same characteristics as H2O2. An H2O2-generating substance in either the YM-3 filtrate or whey had a molecular mass of about 600. In this study, we clarify that bovine milk is capable of generating H2O2by utilizing a low molecular weight compound. Thus, we present a new type of H2O2-supplying system in bovine milk.
The Making of Steam Power Technology: A Study of Technical Change during the British Industrial Revolution
Authors: NUVOLARI ALESSANDRO 
Published: April 2008

Writing in 1845 Friedrich Engels (and with him many other informed contemporaries) had few hesitations in pointing out the driving forces of the epochal transformation he was witnessing:The history of the proletariat in England begins with the second half of the last century, with the invention of the steam engine and the machinery for working cotton. These inventions gave rise, as is well known to an industrial revolution, a revolution which altered the whole civil society; one, the historical importance of which is only now beginning to be recognized.
Use of an optical surface scanner in assessment of outcome following rhinoplasty surgery
Authors: Chau H , Dasgupta R , Sauret V , Kenyon G 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective:To demonstrate the use of an optical surface scanner, with associated software, in the assessment of rhinoplasty patients, and to discuss the possible clinical applications of this technology in the future.Design:Case study analysis of pre- and post-operative scans of a patient undergoing septorhinoplasty at Whipps Cross University Hospital, London, UK.Subject:A 21-year-old man undergoing septorhinoplasty underwent pre-operative optical surface scanning of his face. The scans were repeated at one week and one year post-operatively. Software developed at University College London was then used to analyse the scans.Results:The scans clearly showed that the man's dorsal hump had been well reduced and the nose straightened, with a resulting 1600 mm3 gain on the right side and a 1000 mm3 loss on the left side of the nose. Tip projection had also been achieved.Conclusion:This technique allowed objective quantification of facial features and analysis of change. It may well prove useful in the future in predicting change following surgical intervention.
Biophysics of viral infectivity: matching genome length with capsid size
Authors: Nurmemmedov Elmar , Castelnovo Martin , Catalano Carlos Enrique , Evilevitch Alex 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIn this review, we discuss recent advances in biophysical virology, presenting experimental and theoretical studies on the physical properties of viruses. We focus on the double-stranded (ds) DNA bacteriophages as model systems for all of the dsDNA viruses both prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Recent studies demonstrate that the DNA packaged into a viral capsid is highly pressurized, which provides a force for the first step of passive injection of viral DNA into a bacterial cell. Moreover, specific studies on capsid strength show a strong correlation between genome length, and capsid size and robustness. The implications of these newly appreciated physical properties of a viral particle with respect to the infection process are discussed.
Geometric thermodynamic formalism and real analyticity for meromorphic functions of finite order
Authors: MAYER VOLKER , URBAŃSKI MARIUSZ 
Published: April 2008

AbstractWorking with well chosen Riemannian metrics and employing Nevanlinna’s theory, we make the thermodynamic formalism work for a wide class of hyperbolic meromorphic functions of finite order (including in particular exponential family, elliptic functions, cosine, tangent and the cosine–root family and also compositions of these functions with arbitrary polynomials). In particular, the existence of conformal (Gibbs) measures is established and then the existence of probability invariant measures equivalent to conformal measures is proven. As a geometric consequence of the developed thermodynamic formalism, a version of Bowen’s formula expressing the Hausdorff dimension of the radial Julia set as the zero of the pressure function and, moreover, the real analyticity of this dimension, is proved.
Smoothness is not an obstruction to realizability
Authors: WINDSOR A. J. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractA sequence of non-negative integers$(\phi _n)_{n =1}^\infty $is said to berealizableif there is a mapTof a setXsuch that ϕn=#{x:Tnx=x}. We prove that any realizable sequence can be realized by a$C^\infty $diffeomorphism of$\mathbb {T}^2$.
Workspace and singularity analysis of a 3-DOF planar parallel manipulator with actuation redundancy
Authors: Wang Jinsong , Wu Jun , Li Tiemin , Liu Xinjun 
Published: April 2008

SUMMARYThis paper deals with the position workspace, orientation workspace, and singularity of a 3-degree-of-freedom (DOF) planar parallel manipulator with actuation redundancy, which is created by introducing a redundant link with active actuator to a 3-DOF nonredundant parallel manipulator. Based on the kinematic analysis, the position workspace and orientation workspace of the redundantly actuated parallel manipulator and its corresponding nonredundant parallel manipulator are analyzed, respectively. In the singularity analysis phase, the relationship between the generalized input velocity and the generalized output velocity is researched on the basis of the theory of singular value decomposition. Then a method to investigate the singularity of parallel manipulators is presented, which is used to determine the singularity of the redundantly actuated parallel manipulator. In contrast to the corresponding nonredundant parallel manipulator, the redundant one has larger orientation workspace and less singular configurations. The redundantly actuated parallel manipulator is incorporated into a 4-DOF hybrid machine tool which also includes a feed worktable to demonstrate its applicability.
Hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease: A cost-effectiveness analysis of treatment options
Authors: Gonzalez-Perez Juan G. , Vale Luke , Stearns Sally C. , Wordsworth Sarah 
Published: April 2008

Background: During 2001, over 32,000 patients in the United Kingdom received renal replacement therapy (RRT). Approximately half had a functioning transplant, with the remainder receiving dialysis therapy. The main form of dialysis is hemodialysis (HD), which is provided to 37.1 percent of the RRT population. HD is provided in three main settings: hospital (24.5 percent), satellite (10.9 percent), or home (1.7 percent). The objective of this study is to explore the cost-effectiveness of these different modalities.Methods: By using clinical and cost data from a systematic review, a Markov model was developed to assess the costs and benefits of the three different modalities. The model included direct health service costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results.Results: Satellite HD has lower costs £46,000 and £62,050 at 5 and 10 years than home HD £47,660 and £63,540. The total effectiveness of home HD was slightly greater than for satellite HD, so the incremental cost per QALY of home versus satellite HD was modest at £6,665 at 5 years and £3,943 at 10 years. Both modalities dominated hospital HD.Conclusions: Results from the study reveal that satellite HD was less costly than home HD, and home HD was less costly than hospital HD. The lack of robust data on the effectiveness and new dialysis equipment, which were not included in this review, throws some caution on these results. Nonetheless, the results are supportive of a shift from hospital HD to satellite and home HD.
Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of initial combination therapy with interferon/peginterferon plus ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C in Germany: A health technology assessment commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Health and Social Security
Authors: Siebert Uwe , Sroczynski Gaby ,   on behalf of the German Hepatitis C Model (GEHMO) Group and the HTA Expert Panel on Hepatitis C
Published: April 2008

Objectives:The purpose of this health technology assessment (HTA), commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Health and Social Security, was to systematically review the evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of antiviral treatment (AVT) with interferon (INF) or peginterferon (PegIFN) in combination with ribavirin (RBV) in treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and to apply these data in the context of the German health-care system.Methods:We performed a systematic literature search on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of AVT and summarized results using meta-analysis and evidence tables. We applied the German Hepatitis C Model (GEHMO), a decision-analytic Markov model, to determine long-term clinical effectiveness, costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) of the examined treatment strategies. Model parameters were derived from German databases, published international randomized clinical trials (RCT), and a Cochrane Review.Results:Overall, nine RCTs, two HTA reports, one Cochrane review, two meta-analyses, and seven economic evaluations met the inclusion criteria. These studies indicate that PegIFN+RBV achieved the highest sustained virological response rates (SVR) (54–61 percent), followed by IFN+RBV (38–54 percent) and IFN monotherapy (11–21 percent). Based on our meta-analysis, PegIFN+RBV reduced cases without SVR by 17 percent compared with INF+RBV. International cost-effectiveness studies indicate that INF+RBV is cost-effective when compared with INF monotherapy. For PegIFN+RBV, our decision analysis yielded an ICER of €9,800 per quality-adjusted life-year gained.Conclusions:This HTA suggests that initial combination therapy prolongs life, improves quality of life, and is cost-effective in patients with CHC. Peginterferon plus ribavirin is the most effective and efficient treatment among the examined options. However, because not all chronic hepatitis C patients will develop progressive liver disease, a thorough assessment of the eligibility and appropriateness of treatment with combination therapy must be performed in each individual patient.
Determinants of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging utilization in Taiwan
Authors: Kung Pei-Tseng , Tsai Wen-Chen , Yaung Chih-Liang , Liao Kai-Ping 
Published: April 2008

Objectives:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography (CT) scanners are high-tech equipment with the highest utilizations and expenditures in Taiwan. This study investigates the factors that affect MRI and CT utilization, such as whether supply-side factors have more impact than demand-side factors, and the effect of utilization control policies.Methods:This study used the nationwide CT and MRI claim data for the years 1998 to 2001 from the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) in Taiwan. Multiple regression analysis was the statistical method used to determine the relative factors that influence CT and MRI utilization.Results:CT : population ratio, hospital-based physician : population ratio, female ratio, pediatric (≤14 years) : population ratio, and family income significantly influenced CT utilization. MRI : population ratio and hospital-based physician : population ratio, female ratio, and family income significantly influenced MRI utilization. However, the proportion of the aged (≥65 years of age) did not significantly influence CT or MRI utilization after controlling for other factors. The rates of CT and MRI utilization for the outpatient and inpatient settings and the repeated uses of CT or MRI have decreased significantly after a utilization review was implemented by BNHI, which suggests that CT and MRI have been overused.Conclusions:Increases in supply-side factors significantly increase CT/MRI utilization, and supply-side factors impact CT/MRI utilization more than demand-side factors. The results show that the utilization instant report policy effectively decreases repeated uses of CT/MRI.
Validity of utilities of patients with esophageal cancer
Authors: Stalmeier Peep F. M. , de Boer Angela G. E. M. , Sprangers Mirjam A. G. , de Haes Hanneke C. J. M. , van Lanschot Jan J. B. 
Published: April 2008

Objectives: The convergent validity between utility assessment methods was assessed.Methods: Investigated were patients with esophageal cancer treated surgically with curative intent. Patients were interviewed in a period from 3 to 12 months after surgical resection. Patients evaluated their actual health and seven other states. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and standard gamble (SG) utilities were obtained for the health states in an interview. Patients also indicated whether or not they preferred death to living in a health state (worse than dead [WTD] preferences).Results: Fifty patients completed the interview. Convergent validity was excellent at the aggregate and individual level. However, the relation between VAS and SG differed strongly across individuals. On a scale from 0 (dead) to 100 (perfect health), SG scores were lower for patients with WTD preferences (mean difference d=35; p=.002); however, VAS scores did not vary by WTD preferences.Conclusions: In general, there is good agreement between VAS and SG measures, although patients disagree about how the VAS and SG are related. The standard gamble varied by WTD preferences, however, the VAS did not.
Can electronic routine data act as a surrogate for patient-assessed outcome measures?
Authors: Hutchings Hayley A. , Cheung Wai-Yee , Williams John G. , Cohen David , Longo Mirella F. , Russell Ian 
Published: April 2008

Objectives:There has been a rapid growth in the use of patient-assessed outcomes (PAOs) that are measured in the assessment of health technologies. The process of collection of such measures can be costly, and there may be problems associated with the ability of the patient to complete them. The use of electronically stored routine data may reduce costs and overcome the problems associated with patient completion. The feasibility of using routine data surrogates for the UK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (UKIBDQ) and the Short Form 36 (SF-36) was examined.Methods:Clinical terms and codes for the UKIBDQ and SF-36 questions were identified, and data from electronic routine sources were sought on patients participating in a randomized controlled trial. The presence or absence of relevant symptoms was used to generate surrogate scores, which were compared with the original scores.Results:Most questions in the UKIBDQ and SF-36 were codable but only one third of the terms were recorded routinely in electronic form. The surrogate total IBDQ score had reasonable reliability (Kuder–Richardson coefficient = 0.51), but this reliability could not be determined for the SF-36. Intraclass correlations between routine and designed data were poor to weak.Conclusions:Although electronic routine data sources had the capacity to develop surrogate measures for patient assessed outcomes, there was evidence of wide underutilization of coding systems leading to an underreporting of symptoms. This finding is consistent with previous literature where only poor correlations were illustrated between patient assessed outcomes and surrogate scoring of symptoms.
Clinical practice guidelines and organizational adaptation: A framework for analyzing economic effects
Authors: Schneider John E. , Peterson N. Andrew , Vaughn Thomas E. , Mooss Eric N. , Doebbeling Bradley N. 
Published: April 2008

Objectives:The overall objective of this article was to review the theoretical and conceptual dimensions of how the implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is likely to affect treatment costs.Methods:An important limitation of the extant literature on the cost effects of CPGs is that the main focus has been on clinical adaptation. We submit that the process innovation aspects of CPGs require changes in both clinical and organizational dimensions. We identify five organizational factors that are likely to affect the relationship between CPGs and total treatment costs: implementation, coordination, learning, human resources, and information. We review the literature supporting each of these factors.Results:The net organizational effects of CPGs on costs depends on whether the cost-reducing properties of coordination, learning, and human resource management offset potential cost increases due to implementation and information management.Conclusions:Studies of the cost effects of clinical practice guidelines should attempt to measure, to the extent possible, the effects of each of these clinical and organizational factors.
Cost-effectiveness of a graded exercise therapy program for patients with chronic shoulder complaints
Authors: Geraets Jacques J. X. R. , Goossens Mariëlle E. J. B. , de Bruijn Camiel P. C. , de Groot Imelda J. M. , Köke Albère J. S. , Pelt Rob A. G. B. , van der Heijden Geert , Dinant Geert-Jan , van den Heuvel Wim J. A. 
Published: April 2008

Objectives:The present study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of a behavioral graded exercise therapy (GET) program compared with usual care (UC) in terms of the performance of daily activities by patients with chronic shoulder complaints in primary care.Methods:A total of 176 patients were randomly assigned either to GET (n=87) or to UC (n=89). Clinical outcomes (main complaints, shoulder disability [SDQ] and generic health-related quality of life [EQ-5D], and costs [intervention costs, direct health care costs, direct non–health-related costs, and indirect costs]) were assessed during the 12-week treatment period and at 52 weeks of follow-up.Results:Results showed that GET was more effective than UC in restoring daily activities as assessed by the main complaints instrument after the 12-week treatment period (p=.049; mean difference, 7.5; confidence interval [CI], 0.0–15.0). These effects lasted for at least 52 weeks (p=.025; mean difference 9.2; CI, 1.2–17.3). No statistically significant differences were found on the SDQ or EQ5D. GET significantly reduced direct health care costs (p=.000) and direct non–health care costs (p=.029). Nevertheless, total costs during the 1-year follow-up period were significantly higher (p=.001; GET=€530 versus UC=€377) due to the higher costs of the intervention. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for the main complaints (0–100), SDQ (0–100), and EQ-5D (−1.0–1.0) were €17, €74, and €5,278 per unit of improvement, respectively.Conclusions:GET proved to be more effective in the short- and long-term and reduces direct health care costs and direct non–health care costs but is associated with higher costs of the intervention itself.