bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Contribution of economic evaluation to decision making in early phases of product development: A methodological and empirical review
Authors: Hartz Susanne , John Jürgen 
Published: October 2008

Background:Economic evaluation as an integral part of health technology assessment is today mostly applied to established technologies. Evaluating healthcare innovations in their early states of development has recently attracted attention. Although it offers several benefits, it also holds methodological challenges.Objectives:The aim of our study was to investigate the possible contributions of economic evaluation to industry's decision making early in product development and to confront the results with the actual use of early data in economic assessments.Methods:We conducted a literature research to detect methodological contributions as well as economic evaluations that used data from early phases of product development.Results:Economic analysis can be beneficially used in early phases of product development for various purposes including early market assessment, R&amp;D portfolio management, and first estimations of pricing and reimbursement scenarios. Analytical tools available for these purposes have been identified. Numerous empirical works were detected, but most do not disclose any concrete decision context and could not be directly matched with the suggested applications.Conclusions:Industry can benefit from starting economic evaluation early in product development in several ways. Empirical evidence suggests that there is still potential left unused.
Health technology assessment use and dissemination by patient and consumer groups: Why and how?
Authors: Fattal Julie , Lehoux Pascale 
Published: October 2008

Objectives:Although increasing effort is being devoted to developing strategies to increase knowledge transfer and the uptake of health technology assessment (HTA) by various stakeholders, very little is known about the utilization and dissemination of HTA findings by patient and consumer organizations. The goal of this study is to understand how and why patient and consumer organizations use HTA findings within their organizations, and what factors influence how and when they communicate their findings to members or other organizations.Methods:We examined the use and dissemination of four controversial HTA reports by sixteen patient and consumer organizations in Ontario and Quebec. We gathered data from semistructured interviews conducted between December 2006 and April 2007.Results:Although HTA findings are often used by the patient and consumer organizations, key differences were observed in exactly how the four HTA reports were used. Three types of use (instrumental, conceptual, and symbolic) are reported and illustrated. We highlight the importance of the organization's mission and knowledge base in explaining the types of use observed.Conclusions:We contend that the use and dissemination of HTA reports by specific groups could help in widening the debate around controversial health technologies. The implications and opportunities for HTA agencies relate to the following: (i) identification of “lay” organizations that could help in disseminating results; (ii) acknowledgement of a “lay” audience for HTA findings; (iii) strategic inclusion of advocacy groups during the assessment process for highly controversial technologies; and (iv) contribution of these organizations to the push efforts of knowledge transfer.
Commercial uses: Going functional on exotic trades
Authors: FRANKAU SIMON , SPINELLIS DIOMIDIS , NASSUPHIS NICK , BURGARD CHRISTOPH 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe Functional Payout Framework (fpf) is a Haskell application that uses an embedded domain-specific functional language to represent and process exotic financial derivatives. Whereas scripting languages for pricing exotic derivatives are common in banking, fpf uses multiple interpretations to not only price such trades, but also to analyse the scripts to provide lifecycle support and more. This paper discusses fpf in relation to the wider trading workflow and our experiences in using a functional language in such a system as both an implementation language and a domain-specific language.
Welfare analysis of conditional indexation schemes from a two-reference-point perspective
Authors: DAI RENXIANG , SCHUMACHER J.M. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractConditional indexation has recently attracted interest with pension funds that are looking for a middle way between defined benefit and defined contribution. In this paper, we analyze conditional indexation schemes from a life-cycle investment perspective. Welfare analysis is applied to investigate the performance of such schemes relative to alternative investment strategies such as fixed-mix policies. We carry out this analysis in the context of a broad family of utility functions, which takes into account the possible presence of two benchmark levels corresponding to a minimum guaranty and to full indexation, respectively. For the purpose of comparability, we construct a self-financing continuous-time implementation of the conditional indexation scheme. The implementation involves continual adjustment of the parameters of the contingent claim representing final payoff. Our findings indicate that, in situations where large weight is placed on the benchmark levels, conditional indexation is fairly close to being optimal.
In vitro fertilization and cleavage of mouse oocytes recombined with the first polar body
Authors: Gong-Jin Wang , Xiao-Dong Tan , Xiao-Long Zhou , Xiao-Bo Xu , Bi-Qin Fan 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe developmental functions of oocytes of three strains of mice (Kunming, ICR and C57BL/6-Tg(CAG-EGFP)C14-Y01-FM131Osb) recombined with the nuclei of first polar bodies (Pbs I) were explored. Cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) from the mice were collected after superovulation, then Pbs I were obtained from the COCs by 2% pronase treatment. The survival of Pbs I under different temperatures was identified by morphology and trypan blue staining. Later, the polar body I (Pb 1) nucleus and a little cytoplasm was injected into each oocyte, the nuclei of which had been enucleated by micromanipulation. Oocytes recombined with Pbs I were fertilized, then cultured in vitro in order to observe their further development. The results showed that the vigour of Pbs I was maintained for 12–14 h after superovulation, and was still maintained after 48 h at 4 °C. A total of 13 out of 117 recombined oocytes from Kunming and ICR mice, as well as 3 out of 38 recombined oocytes from C57BL/6-Tg(CAG-EGFP)C14-Y01-FM131Osb mice, developed into two-cell embryos. The experiments confirmed that mouse oocytes recombined with the nuclei of Pbs I could maintain fertilization and development. These results present valuable references for further utilization of genetic resources for farm animals
Advances in the development of animal gene transfer
Authors: Zhen-Dan Shi , Wan-Li Li , Yong-Liang Zhang , Xue-Jin Chen 
Published: October 2008

AbstractEfficiency and specificity are key limiting factors for the production of transgenic animals. This review describes the recently developed animal gene transfer techniques, including non-site-specific methods of gene transfer into the testis and ovary for easy production of transgenic animals; gene targeting in embryonic stem cells, somatic cells and primordial germ cells for site-specific methods; methods to improve cloning efficiency in gene targeting; and site- and timing-specific gene targeting and controlled expression of transferred genes. In addition, methods of utilizing newly developed RNA interference, combined with the above techniques for controlling gene expression, to produce transgenic animals to spatio-temporally and reversibly knock down specific genes, are also discussed. The merits and disadvantages of each method are covered, as well as the potential use of these methods to develop transgenic animals for breeding new animal lines, to study disease models and to produce therapeutic medicines.
Expressing activator protein Ap36 inBacillus thuringiensisand the function of the recombined strain on disease resistance
Authors: Dong-Hai Peng , Chen-Fei Zhou , De-Wen Qiu , Kang Zhou , Li-Fang Ruan , Shou-Wen Chen , Zi-Niu Yu , Ming Sun 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe geneap36encoding a protein elicitor fromAlternariasp. was fused downstream of theslh(S-layer homology) motif ofBacillus thuringiensisS-layer protein genectc. The recombinant gene was then transferred intoB. thuringiensisplasmid-free derivative strain BMB171. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed that the SLH–Ap36 fusion protein was expressed inB. thuringiensisBMB171. After tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) leaves were treated for 90 min with the recombinant strain cultured at 28°C for 24 h, the activity of peroxidase and the amount of proline of tomato leaves were increased to 57.14% and 131.59%, respectively, compared to the control, and after the tomato leaves were treated with the cultured recombinant strain for 4 days, the activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase was also higher than that in the control. Furthermore, tubers of treated potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants showed higher resistance to rot disease caused byErwinia corotovoraSCG1 compared to the control treatments.
Patients’ Perceptions of Informed Consent for Surgical Procedures in Northern Ireland: A Retrospective Survey
Authors: Shannon Heather , Scott Tricia 
Published: October 2008

AbstractConsent for surgical procedures is in the public domain following the Bristol and Liverpool enquiries [Department of Health, 2001a; House of Commons, 2001]. A legal and ethical principle exists whereby consent must be obtained before commencing a physical examination, starting treatment or physical investigation, or providing care. Non-compliance with this requirement is treated most seriously and professionals who choose to do otherwise risk investigation by the relevant regulatory body and/or legal proceedings. Guidance for health and social care professionals, including students, relates specifically to physical interventions on living individuals. The following research investigated patient satisfaction with the process of declaring informed consent prior to surgery. In 2006, a retrospective descriptive survey of a random sample of 200 patients two months following surgery was conducted in a local hospital in Northern Ireland. Data analysis generated frequencies and percentages using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results suggested that the majority of respondents expressed satisfaction with the amount of information they had received, and most preferred to receive information from a mixture of doctors and nurses. The majority wanted the same amount of information, though there was a significant number who wanted more information. The importance of ensuring the patient receives adequate information prior to surgery/procedure is imperative if the health service is to offer transparency in surgical service provision in line with government guidelines.
New wine in old bottles? Italy's divided political culture
Authors: Mete Vittorio 
Published: October 2008

Italians and politics, edited by Marco MaraffiBologna, Il Mulino, 2007332 pp., €26.00 (paperback), ISBN-978-88-15-11491-4Where is the victory? Voting in 2006, described by Italians, edited by ITANESBologna, Il Mulino, 2006241 pp., €13.00 (paperback), ISBN-88-15-11486-6Left and right: Psychological roots of political differences, edited by ITANESBologna, Il Mulino, 2006182 pp., €12.00 (paperback), ISBN-88-15-10911-0‘Incomplete’ is the adjective usually used to qualify the Italian political transition that started in the early 1990s. Fifteen years is a long time in politics: as has been noted (Calise 2006, 3), political episodes that have left an indelible mark on history, such as the Nazi regime or the Napoleonic campaigns, had a similar duration. The political elections held in Spring 2006, however, showed that Italy was still not out of the woods, with a centre-left coalition prevailing over the centre-right by less than 30,000 votes in the Chamber of Deputies, while the centre-right won the larger number of Senate votes, but gained fewer seats because of the bizarre electoral system, which was forcibly introduced three months before the election. The division of seats faithfully echoed the division of the electorate into two equal parts – a division that had existed since 2001, but had been obscured by the electoral system and the mechanics of coalition formation (D'Alimonte and Vassallo 2006, p. 28). The election gave rise to two broad coalitions, both very diverse internally, and a government paralysed by the narrowness of its majority in the Senate. If it is true that Italy can now consider itself a solidly bipolar system – in fact more so than the United Kingdom, which is frequently quoted as an ideal model – it is also true that the best description of our party system is that of “fragmented bipolarism” (D'Alimonte & Vassallo 2006, 19). This is eloquently illustrated by the fall of the Prodi Government in January 2008 and the resulting record brevity of the XVth legislature, which lasted less than two years. Some 15 years on from restructuring the party system, Italian politics has not moved from the starting line, condemned to highly fragmented politics and party systems that result in instability, ungovernability and inability to reach decisions.
Deaf teenagers with cochlear implants in conversation with hearing peers
Authors: Ibertsson Tina , Hansson Kristina , Mäki‐Torkko Elina , Willstedt‐Svensson Ursula , Sahlén Birgitta 
Published: September 2008

Background: This study investigates the use of requests for clarification in conversations between teenagers with a cochlear implant (CI) and hearing peers. So far very few studies have focused on conversational abilities in children with CI.Aims: The aim was to explore co‐construction of dialogue in a referential communication task and the participation of the teenagers with CI in comparison with individually matched hearing children and teenagers (HC) by studying the use of requests for clarification.Methods & Procedures: Sixteen conversational pairs participated: eight pairs consisting of a child with CI and his/her hearing conversational partner (CIP); and eight pairs consisting of an HC and a conversational partner (HCP). The conversational pairs were videotaped while carrying out a referential communication task requiring the description of two sets of pictures depicting faces. The dialogues were transcribed and analysed with respect to the number of words and turns, the time it took for each pair to complete the tasks, and the occurrence and different types of requests for clarification that were used in each type of conversational pair and in each type of dialogue.Outcomes & Results: The main finding was that the teenagers with CI produced significantly more requests for clarification than the HCs. The most frequently used type of request for clarification in all dialogues was request for confirmation of new information. Furthermore, there was a trend for the teenagers with CI to use this type of request more often than the HC. In contrast, the teenagers with CI used significantly fewer requests for confirmation of already given information and fewer requests for elaboration than the HC.Conclusions & Implications: The deaf teenagers with CI in the study seem to be equally collaborative and responsible conversational partners as the hearing teenagers. The interpretation is that certain conditions in this study facilitate their participation in conversation. Such conditions might be a calm environment, a task that is structured and without time limits and that the partner is well known to the teenager with CI.
Dysarthria Impact Profile: development of a scale to measure psychosocial effects
Authors: Walshe Margaret , Peach Richard K. , Miller Nick 
Published: September 2008

Background: The psychosocial impact of acquired dysarthria on the speaker is well recognized. To date, speech‐and‐language therapists have no instrument available to measure this construct. This has implications for outcome measurement and for planning intervention. This paper describes the Dysarthria Impact Profile (DIP), an instrument that has the potential to meet this need in clinical practice.Aims: To describe the development of the DIP, which was devised as part of a larger study to measure psychosocial impact of acquired dysarthria from the speaker's perspective.Methods & Procedures: The current psychometric properties of the DIP are examined. The scale was administered to 31 participants with acquired dysarthria. The internal consistency of the scale items and their intra‐rater reliability were investigated. Concurrent validity was assessed for the portion of the scale (Section A) assessing impact of acquired dysarthria on self‐perception, self‐concept and self‐esteem by comparing the results with changes in self‐concept as determined by the Head Injury Semantic Differential Scale (HISD II).Outcomes & Results: The DIP shows good internal consistency and strong intra‐rater reliability overall. There was a strong, statistically significant, correlation between results on Section A of the DIP and the results of the HISD II suggesting convergent validity for this portion of the scale. There are some limitations to the scale in its current format and these are highlighted.Conclusions & Implications: The scale is now ready for further refinement and development. Once validated, it should act as a robust outcome measure for clinicians.
THE EUROPEAN LEARNED PROFESSIONS AND THE EU HIGHER EDUCATION PROJECT
Authors: Olgiati Vittorio 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACT
One of the most serious problems for those who are concerned with the structure and function of the power-knowledge nexus in contemporary Europe is the lack of a systematic scientific account of the rationale of the EU policy about both learned professions and higher education. The problem does not only stem from the still-living legacies of the past. It stems also from the EU need to provide EU governance with EU-oriented learned professionals in order to come to terms with the rising multidisciplinary complexity of EU decision-making and manage the challenges of current social, political and economic mainstreams. The paper deals with the above issues by focusing on the recent EU quest for expertising EU governance and governing professional EU expertise in a number of evolutionary stages: EU professional and higher education law-policy making; EU reaction towards the so-called ‘globalization wave’ as regards EU epistemic communities; EU ‘learning economy’ and ‘Bologna Convention’ models; the impact of the Nice Treaty on the re-assessment of European professional realms. The need for a European sociology of European professions is stressed in conclusion.
EUROPEAN REGULATION OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
Authors: Le Bianic Thomas , Svensson Lennart G. 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACT
National governing and regulation of professions is to some extent challenged by contemporary international regulation, and partly replaced by considerable international re-regulation – firstly by the European Union, and secondly by globalization of the markets for capital, goods, services and labour. Issues regarding professions are being negotiated at the European level by European professional federations and EU public authorities. These new trends raise questions for the sociological analysis of professions regarding standards of professional education, forms of public regulation, strategies of market closure or autonomy. This paper is a summary of the policies for and the formal regulation of professional education in the European Union. Data are based on policy documents, directives and agreements with a particular focus on the cases of architects and psychologists. Psychology demonstrates most elements of a professional project, proactively emphasizing education, research and academic status and new tasks on an international market. Architecture demonstrates a more established occupation defending the market and emphasizing the social status and the ubiquitous and general role of architecture. There has been a shift from ‘hard’ regulation to more ‘soft’ regulation, allowing more room for professional actors to organise themselves and define their rules of mobility, as well as more initiatives from below and within national and supranational associations, making the policies more contextually determined compared to the external directions from above in the 1980s.
OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING VERSUS COMPANY-LED TRAINING
Authors: Haas Joachim 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACT
The paper provides an analysis of the major controversy which occurred between national aviation authorities during their work on the European harmonization of the aircraft technicians’ competence. The debate focused on the institutional method to assure the high skills level required for that profession: should Europe introduce a system of personnel licensing or a system of company-led training? Should competence assurance and monitoring be assigned to the aviation authority or should these responsibilities be delegated to approved companies? A series of 20 extensive interviews with aviation stakeholders in France, Germany and the United Kingdom showed: (i) the company training option highlights the fact that ‘organization’ is a traditional strategy for competence assurance in high-reliability contexts (like aircraft maintenance), the other main alternatives being occupational regulation and sorting by well-informed markets. (ii) The quality recognition required for the international outsourcing of safety-critical services favours the licensing system. In contrast to licensing, the design of the company training system fails to generate the transparency and trust necessary to reassure foreign customers. (iii) Both systems of competence assurance are densely intertwined with specific industrial relation patterns and vested interests. The distortion of these – national or local – equilibriums by European harmonization encounters strong opposition from the industry and/or unions.
THE ‘HEALTHCARE STATE’ IN TRANSITION
Authors: Kuhlmann Ellen , Burau Viola 
Published: September 2008

ABSTRACT
The building of a European nation challenges entrenched ties between the state and the professions. Yet, in relation to healthcare, European law is especially weak and professional power is particularly strong. Against this background, the present paper aims to map out the specific configurations of the changing governance of healthcare and the dynamics arising from intersecting contexts of change. We argue that the ‘healthcare state’ is strongly shaped by national regulatory frameworks, while the platform for the power of a self-regulatory medical profession is increasingly international in nature. Across countries managerialism and performance measures together with evidence-based medicine and clinical guidelines are meant to improve the accountability of professionals and the safety of the public. However, the new regulatory tools may also have the opposite effect and indeed serve as a means to reassert professional power; here, the heightened internationalization of healthcare even provides new opportunities. We use material from different countries gathered in a number of research projects to assess the changing governance of healthcare and its contexts. The paper concludes by highlighting the significance of both national regulatory frameworks and (international) professionalism.