bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A CUSUM framework for detection of space–time disease clusters using scan statistics
Authors: Sonesson Christian 
Published: May 2007

AbstractSeveral methods for timely detection of emerging clusters of diseases have recently been proposed. We focus our attention on one of the most popular types of method; a scan statistic. Different ways of constructing space–time scan statistics based on surveillance theory are presented. We bridge the ideas from space–time disease surveillance, public health surveillance and industrial quality control and show that previously suggested space–time scan statistics methods can be fitted into a general CUSUM framework. Crucial differences between the methods studied are due to different assumptions about the spatial process. An example is the specification of the spatial regions of interest for a possible cluster, another is the increased rate to be detected within a cluster. We evaluate the detection ability of the methods considering the possibility of a cluster emerging at any time during the surveillance period. The methods are applied to the detection of an increased incidence of Tularemia in Sweden. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The proportional odds model for multivariate interval‐censored failure time data
Authors: Chen Man‐Hua , Tong Xingwei , Sun Jianguo 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe proportional odds model is one of the most commonly used regression models in failure time data analysis and has been discussed by many authors (Appl. Stat.1983;32:165–171;J. Am. Stat. Assoc.1999;94:125–136;J. Am. Stat. Assoc.1997;92:960–967;Biometrics2000;56:511–518;J. Am. Stat. Assoc.2001;96:1446–1457). It specifies that covariates have multiplicative effects on the odds function and is often used when, for example, the covariate effect diminishes over time. Most of the existing methods for the model are for univariate failure time data. In this paper, we discuss how to fit the proportional odds model to multivariate interval‐censored failure time data. For inference, the maximum likelihood approach is developed and evaluated by simulation studies, which suggest that the method works well for practical situations. The method is applied to a set of bivariate interval‐censored data arising from an AIDS clinical trial. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Moving beyond the academy: a commentary on extra‐mural initiatives in systemic development
Authors: Bawden Richard , McKenzie Bruce , Packham Roger 
Published: May 2007

AbstractHawkesbury's Systemic Development differs from other systemic approaches is that it has a pedagogical, rather than methodological focus, with individual and social learning outcomes, and with ethical as well as instrumental concerns. The paper describes the logic of this approach, particularly the key role of epistemic learning in the development of systemic praxis. The approach is confronting epistemologically, and therefore emotionally, in the face of persistent experiential and conceptual challenges. The Centre for Systemic Development (CSD) was formed to enable a move to occur beyond the academy, and three early examples of its work are described. These illustrate the development of the extra‐mural process of systemic development, that include workshops and ‘shop‐work’ projects to enable the practice of: experiential and inspirational learning, self and social awareness, systemic methodologies, dealing with issues of complexity and ethics, and of a future orientation for strategic development. The university context proved too rigid for these activities, and therefore an independent Systemic Development Institute (SDI) was established to carry on the development of the ideas through praxis. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Getting the big picture in natural resource management—systems thinking as ‘method’ for scientists, policy makers and other stakeholders
Authors: Bosch O. J. H. , King C. A. , Herbohn J. L. , Russell I. W. , Smith C. S. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper discusses the benefits of applying Systems Thinking to solving natural resource management problems. It first explains the Systems Thinking concept and briefly outlines its history and emergence in agriculture and natural resource management. A series of case studies are then presented which illustrate practical examples of how Systems Thinking has been used to address real life natural resource management issues. The case studies build on the conclusions of each other by adding additional ways (lessons learnt) of incorporating Systems Thinking into practice to address issues more systemically. The first case study deals with examples of how Systems Thinking facilitated the sharing and integration of disparate sources and forms of knowledge, and making sense of the factors influencing tree density in the tropical savanna region of northern Queensland. The second case study deals with how Systems Thinking has been imbedded in the design and implementation of a research project investigating how to improve financial returns to smallholder tree farmers in the Philippines. The third case study illustrates how Systems Thinking was used to design and facilitate an adaptive rodent management project in Cambodia based on participatory research, development and extension. From these experiences, the authors' highlight a variety of key points that lead to the proposition that Systems Thinking should be ‘absorbed’ into scientific research, in the same way that statistics, is today an integral part of all sciences. A framework for the application of Systems Thinking is presented to help improve sustainable land management. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The theoretical underpinnings of soft systems methodology—comparing the work of Geoffrey Vickers and Humberto Maturana
Authors: Brocklesby John 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper seeks to juxtapose the work of Sir Geoffrey Vickers and Humberto Maturana with a view to thinking more about the theoretical underpinnings of Peter Checkland's soft systems methodology (SSM) and of soft systems and soft operational research more generally. The paper argues that Maturana's ‘Theory of the Observer’ can usefully complement Vickers by specifying more precisely the nature of the cognitive structures that underpin people's descriptions of situations, by clarifying the relationship between cognitive creativity and the historical and relational constraints that bear upon people's descriptions and explanations, and by providing a more complete description of the dynamics that underpin individual and social learning. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A systems thinking study of retention and recruitment issues for the New Zealand Army electronic technician trade group
Authors: Cavana Robert Y. , Boyd David M. , Taylor Richard J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractSince the mid‐1990s, the NZ Army has experienced difficulty retaining personnel in the electronic technicians trade. A systems thinking study, using the qualitative system dynamics approach, was undertaken to establish a better understanding of the causal factors of poor retention and recruitment, their interconnections and complex relationships and to identify leverage points to develop a turn‐around strategy. Separate group model building workshops were held with the apprentices, tradesmen, management and external stakeholders. Causal loop diagrams (CLDs) were developed for each stakeholder group and the three internal stakeholder group CLDs were merged for further analysis. The combined internal stakeholders' CLD and external stakeholders' CLD were used as the basis for the analysis of leverage points within the system, and to facilitate the development of action plans for the trade group. The paper outlines this systems thinking study and the subsequent implementation of the recommendations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Re‐evaluating systems engineering as a framework for tackling systems issues
Authors: Cook Stephen C. , Ferris Timothy L. J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe engineering discipline of systems engineering was developed as means to address the design, implementation and operation of large, complex technical systems. Whilst systems engineering includes methods for addressing the whole life‐cycle of the end product system, and processes for determining what should be made, it still reflects many aspects of the traditional engineering worldview. During the past decade or so, there has been a growing trend within the systems engineering community to appreciate that systems engineering has much wider concerns than just addressing the end product system, and properly encompasses the social aspects of the interaction of people with the end product system, and also the organizational system in which the development is done. Over this period, the framework of ideas that underpins systems engineering has also progressed from engineering science to a transdisciplinary position that incorporates many of the established systems approaches to management. In this paper, we examine the nature of contemporary systems engineering and conclude that systems engineering is a metamethodology for the development and evolution of large, socio‐technical systems. We argue that, as such, systems engineering is an appropriate methodology for any problem situation where the solution can be expected to involve a substantial technical component. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Extending data mining methodologies to encompass organizational factors
Authors: Debuse J. C. W. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractData mining has been applied to a wide range of applications in its relatively short existence, but much of the research to date has concentrated upon its more technical and algorithmic aspects at the expense of the overall system; existing methodologies are primarily guidelines for data mining specialists. This study aims to redress the balance by producing a new theoretical framework incorporating key systemic and contextual factors. The framework represents a new way of thinking about data mining, and can be used to reduce the number of projects that are technically sound but of little or no organizational benefit. Further, the framework strengthens the theoretical underpinnings of data mining by identifying essential systemic factors at every stage of the data mining process. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The systemic roots of suicide bombing
Authors: Hutchinson W. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThe phenomenon of contemporary suicide bombing has its origins and continuance in the social environment of various regions of the world. It has its origins in the complex milieu of religions, social systems, oppression, war, political systems, global and local political systems, economics and psychological and social dysfunction. It is truly a messy problem with no single solution. This paper offers an analysis of the systemic roots of the phenomenon in the contemporary world. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Practitioner identity in systemic intervention: reflections on the promotion of environmental health through Māori community development
Authors: Midgley Gerald , Ahuriri‐Driscoll Annabel , Foote Jeff , Hepi Maria , Taimona Hone , Rogers‐Koroheke Marara , Baker Virginia , Gregor Jan , Gregory Wendy , Lange Miria , Veth Johanna , Winstanley Ann , Wood David 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIn systemic intervention, boundary critique is important. This means explicitly exploring the inclusion, exclusion and marginalization of both people and issues. Most of the practitioner's attention in boundary critique is usually focused on relationships between stakeholders (i.e. the participants in the intervention and those who might be affected by it). A significant focus is also the remit of the intervention: those things that need to be directly addressed or bracketed out in order to make a difference that is meaningful to a broad range of stakeholders. What is often less visible during boundary critique is the personal and/or professional identity of the practitioner, and the impact this may have on both relationships with others and the construction of people's understanding of the issues they are grappling with. This paper reflects on a project promoting environmental health through Māori community development that reveals the importance of personal and professional identity to systemic intervention. It is argued that it is impossible for practitioners to set aside their identities and become ‘neutral’ modellers or process facilitators. When this appears to happen it is because the practitioner's identity has been (often invisibly) constructed to legitimate his or her activities, and these activities do not transgress the expectations of participants that flow from their understanding of the practitioner's identity and role. Nevertheless, even though practitioner identities inevitably impact on the trajectory of interventions, at least some of their implications can be explicitly acknowledged and managed as part of systemic intervention. Some examples of management strategies are provided. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Interactive tool support for CSP || B consistency checking
Authors: Evans Neil , Treharne Helen 
Published: May 2007

Abstract
CSP || B is an integration of two well known formal notations: CSP and B. It provides a method for modelling systems with both complex state (described in B machines) and control flow (described as CSP processes). Consistency checking within this approach verifies that a controller process never calls a B operation outside its precondition. Otherwise the behaviour of the operation cannot be predicted. In previous work, this check was carried out by manually decomposing the model before preprocessing the CSP processes to perform a hand-written weakest precondition proof. In this paper, a framework is described that mechanises consistency checking in a theorem prover and removes the need for preprocessing. This work is based on an existing PVS embedding of the CSP traces model, but it is extended by introducing a notion of state so that the interaction between processes and machines can be analysed. Numerous rules have been defined (and proved) which enable consistency checking and decomposition via PVS proof. These rules also formally justify the relaxation of previous constraints on CSP || B architectures, thereby widening the scope of CSP || B modelling. The PVS embedding and rules presented in this paper are not only applicable to CSP || B specifications, but to other combined approaches which use a non-blocking semantics for the state-based operations.
Ecological traits determine the affinity of birds to a larch plantation matrix, in montane Nagano, central Japan
Authors: Yamaura Yuichi , Amano Tatsuya , Katoh Kazuhiro 
Published: May 2007

AbstractAlthough the affinity to the matrix habitat (matrix affinity) determines the fate of species in dynamic landscapes where habitat replacement occurs, only a few studies have examined which ecological traits are associated with matrix affinity. Here, we examined the associations of five ecological traits (i.e., fertility, body weight, migratory behavior, foraging height, and nesting height) with affinity for forest birds to a novel larch plantation matrix habitat. We surveyed the occurrence of birds in larch plantations (matrix habitat) and original deciduous forests (original habitat) in the winter and the breeding season, in a montane region of Nagano prefecture, central Japan. We treated occurrences in the matrix habitat relative to the original habitat as the matrix affinity of each species and examined the associations of ecological traits with matrix affinity, controlling for the relatedness of species. Fertile, resident, and low‐nesting species showed high matrix affinity, while an association with body weight was not supported. The associations of foraging groups with matrix affinity were complex. While early successional species showed high matrix affinity, flycatchers had low matrix affinity. The matrix affinity of some foraging groups was greater in the winter than in the breeding season. Based on the results, we predicted that low fertility and migratory, high‐nesting species would be sensitive to habitat replacement due to matrix hostility. These predictions may be applicable to other matrix type, region, and taxa.
Oils in the Seeds of Caneberries Produced in Korea
Authors: Oh Hyun H. , Hwang Keum T. , Shin Min K. , Lee Hee K. , Kim Sung Z. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractSeed and oil contents, and fatty acid compositions of oils of 20 caneberries grown in Korea were determined. Fatty acid compositions of the oils were analyzed using GC for the extracted and methylated oils from the berry seeds. The seeds comprised 4–10% (w/w) of the wet berries and accounted for 26–62% of the dry berries. Moisture and oil contents of the berry seeds were 8–17 and 13–28% (dry basis), respectively. More than 90% of the total fatty acids in the oils from the berry seeds were unsaturated. Linoleic and linolenic acids comprised 49–70 and 13–34%, respectively, of the oils in the berry seeds.
Rapid Determination of Degradation in Frying Oils with Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Gerde Jose A. , Hardy Connie L. , Hurburgh Charles R. , White Pamela J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractMeasures of free fatty acids (FFA), total polar materials (TPM), and conjugated dienoic acids (CDA), typical indices of oil degradation, were analyzed in daily oil aliquots taken from soybean oils with different linolenic acid concentrations used to fry French fries. The oils also were scanned with a reflectance near‐infrared spectrometer using a wavelength range of 350–2,500 nm. By using partial least squares and one‐out cross validation, calibrations were developed to quantitatively determine FFA, TPM, and CDA by near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The coefficients of determination (R2) when compared to the standard methods were 0.973 for FFA, 0.984 for TPM, and 0.902 for CDA. NIRS was an accurate and fast method to determine FFA, TPM, and CDA in oxidized oils. The ability to obtain different parameters simultaneously makes NIRS a potentially valuable tool for food quality assurance.
Factors Affecting Initial Retention of a Microencapsulated Sunflower Seed Oil/Milk Fat Fraction Blend
Authors: Cerdeira Marina , Palazolo Gonzalo G. , Candal Roberto J. , Herrera María L. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractTo study the effect of emulsion stability, particle size, emulsifier, and crystalline fat in the oil phase on initial retention of a low‐trans fat encapsulated in a trehalose matrix, six emulsions were prepared. The six emulsions were formulated with 20 wt% trehalose solution as the aqueous phase, a lipid phase either with no crystalline fat, sunflower seed oil (SFO), or with a crystalline phase, a 40% SFO in high‐melting fraction of milk fat (HMF) blend, and sodium caseinate (NaCas), a 50 wt% blend of the palmitic sucrose esters (SE) P‐170 and P‐1670, or a 50 wt% blend of NaCas/SE as stabilizers. Particle size did not change or it changed only slightly during the freeze thaw or freeze drying process when the fat phase was SFO. However, when a crystalline phase was present, the volume‐weighted mean diameter (D4,3) increased dramatically for SE and NaCas/SE stabilizers. Encapsulation properties were determined by the counteracting effects of particle size and distribution, the presence of crystalline material in the droplets and interactions between interface components, fat phase and trehalose. In addition, retention was less related to emulsion stability. The emulsions selected for this study were stable for at least 30 h which was enough for obtaining a high degree of encapsulation.
Fracture‐related hip pain in elderly patients with proximal femoral fracture after discharge from stationary treatment
Authors: Dasch Burkhard , Endres Heinz G. , Maier Christoph , Lungenhausen Margitta , Smektala Rüdiger , Trampisch Hans J. , Pientka Ludger 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground: Proximal femoral fracture is a common condition in the elderly but very little is known about fracture‐related hip pain in these patients after discharge from stationary treatment.Aims: To identify risk factors associated with persistent hip pain in elderly hip‐fracture patients.Methods: We analysed data from a large observational study, evaluating the health care situation of hip‐fracture patients between January 2002 and September 2003 in Germany. For this analysis, we focused on a sub‐sample of patients who were 65 years or older, had sustained an isolated proximal femoral fracture and had undergone surgical intervention. A telephone interview was conducted 6–12 months after discharge. Pain intensity, pain‐related disability and severity of chronic pain were measured using the Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS). Multivariate linear regression methods were applied to test hospital patient data for their value in predicting post‐hospitalisation presence of fracture‐related pain.Results: In total, 1541 patients (mean age 78.4, 76.1% female) were enrolled in this analysis. The prevalence of fracture‐related hip pain was 13.4% (206/1541). Among these 206 patients, 57.3% had pain intensity scores ≥50, 65.0% had pain disability scores ≥50, and the severity of chronic pain (Grades 1–4) was assessed as follows: (1) 34.0%, (2) 19.4%, (3) 31.5%, (4) 15.1%. The clinical variables age, weight and operative procedure were found to be predictive of post‐hospitalisation fracture‐related pain.Conclusions: This analysis shows that a substantial percentage of elderly patients with proximal femoral fracture suffer intense fracture‐related hip pain after stationary treatment.
Nuchal translucency as a predictor of adverse pregnancy outcome
Authors: Piazze J. , Anceschi M.M. , Cerekja A. , La Torre R. , Pala A. , Papa A. , Cosmi E.V. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground Thickened nuchal translucency (NT) has been related to fetal genetic syndromes, structural abnormalities, and other diseases. The aim of this research was to evaluate the association of NT with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Study design In the period 2002–2004 in 2104 pregnant women between 10 + 6 and 13 + 5 weeks' gestation, NT was evaluated as a parameter for aneuploidy screening: out of these, 734 singleton pregnant women that underwent 2nd trimester amniocentesis and whose pregnancy outcome were known were selected. NT was statistically correlated to pregnancy and neonatal outcome. Results Median gestational age (GA) at NT evaluation was 11 + 2 weeks' gestation. NT median was 1.1 mm (0.9–1.4 mm, 25th–75th centile, range 0.5–4.0 mm). After multiple logistic regressions, the variables significantly associated to NT values were: threatened preterm labor (p < 0.008) and preterm labor (p < 0.02). The best diagnostic accuracy point was NT > 95th centile and > 1.5 MoM for the prediction of threatened preterm labor. Conclusion In this series, increased NT values were associated to threatened preterm labor and preterm labor in euploid fetuses: this finding may have clinical consequences in the management of such pregnancies.