bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Interval estimation of the risk difference in non‐compliance randomized trials with repeated binary measurements
Authors: Lui Kung‐Jong 
Published: December 2006

AbstractIn a randomized clinical trial (RCT), we often encounter non‐compliance with the treatment protocol for a subset of patients. The intention‐to‐treat (ITT) analysis is probably the most commonly used method in a RCT with non‐compliance. However, the ITT analysis estimates ‘the programmatic effectiveness’ rather than ‘the biological efficacy’. In this paper, we focus attention on the latter index and consider use of the risk difference (RD) to measure the effect of a treatment. Based on a simple additive risk model proposed elsewhere, we develop four asymptotic interval estimators of the RD for repeated binary measurements in a RCT with non‐compliance. We apply Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate and compare the finite‐sample performance of these interval estimators in a variety of situations. We find that all interval estimators considered here can perform well with respect to the coverage probability. We further find that the interval estimator using a tanh−1(x) transformation is probably more precise than the others, while the interval estimator derived from a randomization‐based approach may cause a slight loss of precision. When the number of patients per treatment is large and the probability of compliance to an assigned treatment is high, we find that all interval estimators discussed here are essentially equivalent. Finally, we illustrate use of these interval estimators with data simulated from a trial of using macrophage colony‐stimulating factor to reduce febrile neutropenia incidence in acute myeloid leukaemia patients. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Earthquake analysis of isotropic asymmetric multistory buildings
Authors: Athanatopoulou A. M. , Makarios T. , Anastassiadis K. 
Published: December 2006

AbstractIsotropic multistory buildings are the ones characterized by the property: all load‐resisting planar frames have proportional lateral stiffness matrices. In the present paper it is proved that the modal analysis of an N‐story isotropic asymmetric, torsionally coupled, building (a problem of order 3N) can be separated into two independent sub‐problems: (a) a sub‐problem that corresponds to a single‐story asymmetric, torsionally coupled, building (a problem of order 3); and (b) a sub‐problem that corresponds to an N‐story, torsionally uncoupled, planar frame (a problem of order N). It is also demonstrated that the orientation of peak modal seismic forces of the building is independent of the orientation of seismic excitation, which affects only their size. The separation provides a better insight into the structural behavior of asymmetric multistory buildings under earthquake ground motion. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of additives on the clouding behavior of sodium dodecyl sulfate + tetra‐n‐butylammonium bromide system
Authors: Kumar Sanjeev , Sharma Damyanti , Kabir‐ud‐Din  
Published: December 2006

AbstractThe effect of additives on the cloud point (CP) of nonionic surfactants has been studied for more than six decades. Ionic surfactants, however, generally do not show clouding. Recently, CP in ionic surfactant solutions have been reported in the presence of a few quaternary bromides. In this study, we report the effect of various additives (e.g., ureas, sugars, salts, organic solvents, acids) on the CP of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) + tetra‐n‐butylammonium bromide (Bu4NBr) systems. An increase in CP of the system with urea concentration is explained by its water structure‐breaking ability. An opposite effect of thiourea may be due to the direct interaction of the compound with the SDS‐Bu4NBr mixed micelle. The CP‐decreasing effect of sugars is due to their water structure‐making ability. All the salts decrease the CP, owing to increased counterion binding. The organic solvents used here raise the CP, whereas the other organic additives decrease the CP. The overall criteria of CP variation seemingly depend upon the solubilities of the additive in the micellar interfacial region and the background solvent.
Synthesis and characterization of novel amphiphiles containing amino acid and carbohydrate
Authors: Abe Akinari , Asakura Kouichi , Osanai Shuichi 
Published: December 2006

AbstractAmphiphiles composed of two different natural renewable raw materials, amino acid and carbohydrate (chitin), were synthesized, and their colloidal properties were studied.N‐Higher acylated glutamic and aspartic acid were used as amino acid raw materials. Chitin monomer (N‐acetyl glucosamine) and dimer (N,N′‐diacetylchitobiose) were employed as the carbohydrate hydrophilic moiety in the amphiphiles. These surfactants showed a surface tension in the range of 30–36 mN/m at their critical micelle concentration. In the study of colloidal properties, such as surface tension, emulsification, and foaming, the surfactants containing the monosaccharide hydrophilic group showed much better results than those with disaccharide. Biodegradation measurements showed that the tested surfactants are biodegraded by environmental microorganisms to 57–73% of the initial levels in 14 d. Their biodegradation extent depended on neither the saccharide structure nor the kind of amino acid.
Cesarean section on request in a developing country
Authors: Chigbu C.O. , Ezeome I.V. , Iloabachie G.C. 
Published: December 2006

AbstractObjective: To assess the prevalence of cesarean sections (CSs) and women's reasons for requesting the procedure in a developing country. Method: Pregnant women scheduled for elective CS were interviewed to determine whether the procedure was requested by them or suggested by a physician. The women who personally requested a CS filled out questionnaires before surgery and at the postnatal visit 6 weeks later, and their answers were analyzed. Results: The prevalence of CS on request was 4.4%. Previous infertility and advanced maternal age at first pregnancy were the most common reasons for requesting a CS, but most women said they would prefer a vaginal delivery in subsequent pregnancies. Conclusion: The women who requested a CS in this study did so for reasons different from those put forth by women in developed countries. The view that a CS is the surest way toward a live birth was the critical factor underlying their choice.
Operations management in the information economy: Information products, processes, and chains
Authors: Karmarkar Uday S. , Apte Uday M. 
Published: December 2006

AbstractThe process of economic evolution from agriculture to manufacturing to services is nearing its end in the U.S. and other developed economies. Another major evolution along a different dimension is now underway: it is from a material‐based economy to an information‐based economy. In the past, the product–service dichotomy has proved useful as an organizing principle for the study of operations management. Today, however, a material–information categorization of products and services appears to be equally important and useful. The information sector now comprises the major share of the U.S. private economy and includes many of the largest industrial sectors and firms. We discuss the implications of this evolution for research and teaching in operations management (OM).The basic questions addressed here are: In what ways are information products, services, processes and chains similar to, or different from, those in the material world? To what extent is it possible to manage operations in information industries using the existing operations management concepts and techniques? The conclusions are mixed. To a great extent, traditional concepts are indeed applicable and useful. However, there are significant differences. For example, quantification and measurement pose a fundamental problem in the study of information industries. As a result, there are difficulties in analyzing some of the most basic OM issues related to productivity, cost, value, and transformation. Nevertheless, the process‐centric methods of operations management can be quite effective in analyzing firms and industries that produce information goods and services. An understanding of process economics and information chains is also central to the analysis of competition given the impact of new technologies on processes, firms, information chains and information industries. We conclude that while there is much in the information sector that can be addressed with our current toolkit, some very interesting and challenging issues still remain open for research. From the perspective of management education too, operations management in the information economy is an area of growing importance, with some easy wins and some significant challenges.
Did Bill C-24 Affect Voter Turnout? Evidence from the 2000 and 2004
Elections
Authors: Loewen Peter John , Blais André 
Published: December 2006

Abstract. By tying subsidies to vote totals, Bill C-24
substantially changed the way Canadian national parties are financed. This
raises the possibility of increased voter turnout, as parties face greater
incentives to maximize vote totals, and voters face greater incentives to
turn out. We consider this possibility. We show that turnout was not
differently affected by closeness in 2004 than in 2000; that
candidates' efforts were not greater in 2004 in more marginal
ridings; that there were no differences in the likelihood of abstaining or
deserting a preferred third-place party in 2004 and 2000; and that at the
individual level, the decision to turn out was not affected by strategic
considerations in the expected direction. Accordingly, we find little
support for the possibility that C-24 increased turnout.Résumé. En liant les subventions au total des
votes obtenus, la loi C-24 modifie substantiellement le financement des
partis politiques nationaux au Canada. Ce changement pourrait induire une
augmentation de la participation électorale puisque les partis ont
intérêt à maximiser le nombre de votes et les
électeurs sont davantage incités à voter. Nous
examinons cette hypothèse. Nous démontrons que
l'influence de l'intensité de la lutte entre les
candidates sur la participation électorale n'a pas
été différente en 2004 qu'en 2000; que les
efforts des candidats n'ont pas été plus intenses en
2004 dans les circonscriptions perdues à l'avance; que la
probabilité de s'abstenir ou de renoncer à appuyer un
tiers parti n'a pas changé entre 2000 et 2004; et que la
décision individuelle de participer à l'élection
n'a pas été influencée par des
considérations stratégiques allant dans la direction
prévue. En conséquence, nous trouvons peu de preuves
confirmant l'hypothèse selon laquelle la loi C-24 a
favorisé la participation électorale.
Le Canada, les États-Unis et le monde, la marge de
manœuvre canadienne
Authors: Beaulieu Isabelle 
Published: December 2006

Le Canada, les États-Unis et le monde, la marge de
manœuvre canadienne, Sous la direction de André Donneur,
Québec : Les Presses de l'Université Laval, 2005.Ce livre réunit cinq articles traitant de la relation du Canada
avec son voisin du sud, cette superpuissance dans l'ombre de laquelle
le gouvernement canadien déploie sa politique
étrangère. Les réflexions proposées portent
essentiellement sur les questions de sécurité. Publié
à la fin de 2005, l'ouvrage analyse les politiques des
gouvernements Chrétien et Martin. Or ce sont des questions de
politique intérieure plutôt que de politique
étrangère qui ont mobilisé les ressources de ces
gouvernements. Cette publication pose la question de l'avenir,
question qui est encore plus pertinente depuis le changement de
gouvernement survenu à Ottawa en janvier 2006
It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office
Authors: Trimble Linda 
Published: December 2006

It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office,
Jennifer L. Lawless, Richard L. Fox, New York: Cambridge University Press,
2005, pp. 203.It Takes a Candidate explains why professional women
aren't running for political office in sufficient numbers to narrow
the persistent gender gap in political representation in the United
States. By means of a comprehensive survey of men and women in the
political “pipeline professions,” the authors discovered that
women remain less politically ambitious than men. Even highly qualified
women tend not to envision political careers or to believe they have the
right stuff for politics. Remarkably, women who do decide to run for
office often doubt their credentials. In contrast, men with similar
qualifications have little difficulty imagining holding even the highest
political positions, as they accept their life and work skills as unique
training for elected public service.
La diversité culturelle. Vers une convention internationale
effective?
Authors: Traisnel Christophe 
Published: December 2006

La diversité culturelle. Vers une convention internationale
effective?, Gilbert Gagné, Montréal : Fides. Points
chauds. 213 pages.La diversité culturelle. Vers une convention internationale
effective?, publié sous la direction de Gilbert Gagné
dans la collection “ Points Chauds ”, est en bonne partie issu
d'une conférence sur le thème de la diversité
culturelle organisée par le Groupe de recherche sur
l'intégration continentale (GRIC) de l'Université
du Québec à Montréal le 31 mars 2004. Cette rencontre
visait à organiser une réflexion collective sur ce qui
était encore à l'époque à
l'état de projet : l'organisation, par l'UNESCO,
d'une Convention internationale sur la diversité culturelle
(CIDC).
The Quest for Modernity in the Middle East and the Islamic World
Memories of State: Politics, History, and Collective Identity in Modern
Iraq; The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq; Nationalism and Minorities
Identities in Islamic Societies; and Muslims and Modernity: An
Introduction to the Issues and Debates
Authors: Mottale Morris M. 
Published: December 2006

The Quest for Modernity in the Middle East and the Islamic World
Memories of State: Politics, History, and Collective Identity in Modern
Iraq, Eric Davis, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005, pp.
xi, 385.The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq, Brendan O'Leary, John
McGarry and Khaled Salih, eds., Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 2005, pp. xxi, 355Nationalism and Minorities Identities in Islamic Societies,
Maya Schatzmiller, ed., Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press,
2005, pp. xiii, 346Muslims and Modernity: An Introduction to the Issues and
Debates, Clinton Bennett, London, New York: Continuum, 2005, pp.
xviii, 286These four books encapsulate a range of political issues that have
shaped the formation of states and ideologies in the Middle East and North
Africa since the beginning of the modern encounter between Europe and the
Islamic world, from the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt through the
post-World War I demise of the Ottoman world up to the American invasion
of Iraq in 2003.
Low Luminosity Galaxies
Authors: Davies J. I. , Sabatini S. , Roberts S. 
Published: December 2006

AbstractLow luminosity (dwarf) galaxies play a crucial role in our current theories of galaxy and large scale structure formation. In the hierarchical picture they are the building blocks from which other structures form. These theories in their basic form overpredict the numbers of small dark matter halos (dwarf galaxies?) unless some form of star formation supression is invoked. In this paper we describe observations of dwarf galaxies in a range of different environments. We find that there are far too few dwarf galaxies in low density environments to be compatible with the theories. These observations are not consistent with an environment-independent mechanism suppressing dwarf galaxy formation. It is also not clear how these mechanisms can supress star formation if dwarf galaxies have large mass-to-light ratios (≈100). Either the whole idea of hierarchical galaxy formation has to be rejected or other environmentally dependent physical processes have to be invoked. We suggest that small, gas-rich dI galaxies have their evolution rapidly advanced as they move into the dense cluster environment.
Local Group Velocity from the PSCz and BTP Surveys
Authors: D'Mellow Kenton J. , Saunders Will ,   PSCz/BTP Teams
Published: December 2006

AbstractWe present a brief overview and preliminary measure of the Local Group velocity, using the PSCz survey together with its recently completed extension into the Galactic plane, the Behind The Plane (BTP) survey. The addition of the BTP has increased the total sky coverage from 84% to 93%, drastically reducing the systematic uncertainty in the direction of the local gravitational pull caused by incomplete sky coverage. We present methods that self-consistently determine the acceleration in the presence of redshift distortions. Preliminary results suggest that the dipole converges within the survey limiting depth. There is a large, but only marginally significant, component to the dipole arising at 180–200 h–1 Mpc.
The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy
Authors: Lewis Geraint F. , Ibata Rodrigo A. , Irwin Michael J. , Martin Nicolas F. , Bellazzini Michele , Conn Blair 
Published: December 2006

AbstractRecent observational evidence suggests that the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy represents the only major ongoing accretion event in the Galactic halo, accounting for the majority of stellar debris identified there. This paper summarises the recent discovery of another potential Milky Way accretion event, the Canis Major dwarf galaxy. This dwarf satellite galaxy is found to lie just below the Galactic plane and appears to be on an equatorial orbit. Unlike Sagittarius, which is contributing to the Galactic halo, the location and eventual demise of Canis Major suggests that it represents a building block of the thick disk.
James Derek Birchall, O. B. E. 7 October 1930—7 December 1995
Authors: Kelly Anthony , Howard A. J. 
Published: December 2006

Derek Birchall died as result of a collision with a London taxi on 7 December 1995. He had been a most prolific inventor and had recently entered academic life. He was one of the very few Fellows elected to the Royal Society this century who did not possess a university degree. Like Alfred Nobel before him, he had received little formal education, and he was fascinated by the phenomena of fire (rather than by explosion). His wife of many years, Pauline, had died in 1990, and at his death he was betrothed to Audrey Greaves
By far the greatest part of his scientific career was spent working for I.C.I., and many of his inventions were commercialized by that company.
Richard Phillips Feynman. 11 May 1918 – 15 February 1988
Authors: Mehra Jagdish 
Published: December 2006

Just as Josiah Willard Gibbs was assuredly the greatest American physicist of the nineteenth century, Richard Phillips Feynman was arguably the greatest American-born theoretical physicist of the twentieth century. Feynman was among the truly great physicists of the world. Mark Kac, the eminent Polish-American mathematician, wrote (Kac 1985, p. xxv):
In science, as well as in other fields of human endeavor, there are two kinds of geniuses: the ‘ordinary’ and the ‘magicians’. An ordinary genius is a fellow that you and I would be just as good as, if we were only many times better. There is no mystery as to how his mind works. Once we understand what he has done, we feel certain that we, too, could have done it. It is different with magicians. They are, to use a mathematical jargon, in the orthogonal complement of where we are and the working of their minds is for all intents and purposes incomprehensible. They seldom, if ever, have students because they cannot be emulated and it must be terribly frustrating for a brilliant young mind to cope with the mysterious ways in which the magician's mind works. Richard Feynman [was] a magician of the highest caliber.
Ralph Louis Wain, C.B.E. 29 May 1911 – 14 December 2000
Authors: Fowden Leslie 
Published: December 2006

Ralph Louis Wain died on 14 December 2000, at the age of 89 years. Just a few weeks before his death he had kept an audience enraptured by his enthusiastic presentation of chemical ideas during a two-hour lecture. Louis applied his chemical acumen to the solution of agricultural problems, believing the advancement of agricultural practice was highly dependent on developments in chemistry. He was interested particularly in how subtle changes in the structures of chemicals could influence their plant-growth-regulatory properties, and he discovered and actively promoted a group of selective herbicides, some of which are still used today in commercial practice. Many would regard him as Britain's most outstanding agricultural chemist of the twentieth century. He received numerous honours and prizes, but two gave him especial pleasure, perhaps because of their unusual citations. These were the Actonian Prize of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, awarded only every seventh year, for outstanding scientific work ‘which illustrated the wisdom and beneficence of the Almighty’ (previous winners had included Edison, Marconi, Marie Curie and Fleming), and the John Scott (USA) International Award for ‘research for the benefit, welfare and happiness of mankind’. Wain was ever conscious of the need to protect and increase the harvests of food crops for the peoples of poorer, developing countries, and he was a major player in scientists' successes in increasing food crop production.
Louis took every opportunity to convey his ideas and enthusiasm to fascinated audiences, whether they were schoolchildren or learned scientists, at home or abroad. He listed travel as one of his hobbies. Did this passion derive from the many invitations he received to lecture abroad? Whatever the answer, he gained great satisfaction from this role; and his audiences were most appreciative of his lucid lecturing style, and often the puckish humour with which his ideas were presented.
Vincent Massey 28 November 1926 – 26 August 2002 Elected FRS 1977
Authors: Williams Charles H. , Ballou David P. 
Published: December 2006

Vincent Massey—Vince to all who knew him—lived life very fully. Carol Strickland, the wife of a former graduate student of Vince's, captured his vitality for many of us. ‘The stop-flow might have been Vince's favorite research tool, but in life, he was all flow without stop. I can still see Vince—his eyes twinkling—practically chomping the stem of his pipe in two as he guffawed at something that struck him as funny. What a bon vivant he was! Whatever he did, he did full-bore, “sucking all the marrow out of life”, as Thoreau put it.’
Vincent Massey gained international distinction in physical biochemistry. His pioneering efforts to relate flavin chemistry to flavin enzymology resulted in a new understanding of flavin charge-transfer complexes, free radicals in flavoproteins, oxygen reactivity of flavins, the interactions of the flavin ring structure with proteins, and the classification of flavoenzymes. His discovery that Straub diaphorase is in fact lipoamide dehydrogenase and that it functions in the pyruvate and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complexes was a milestone in understanding metabolism. His development of totally innovative methodology for the determination of intermediates in enzyme catalysis through transient kinetics made flavoproteins one of the best understood enzyme families. This allowed him to define the mechanism by which the drug allopurinol inhibited xanthine oxidase; this was one of the first instances in which the effects of a drug on an enzyme were understood chemically. Vince had a great human impact on science by inspiring and training others and by his determination to maintain the integrity of the scientific method as well as to foster basic research.