bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A one‐sided MEWMA chart for health surveillance
Authors: Joner Michael D. , Woodall William H. , Reynolds Marion R. , Fricker Ronald D. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIt is often important to rapidly detect an increase in the incidence rate of a given disease or other medical condition. It has been shown that when disease counts are sequentially available from a single region, a univariate control chart designed to detect rate increases, such as a one‐sided cumulative sum chart, is very effective. When disease counts are available from several regions at corresponding times, the most efficient monitoring method is not readily apparent. Multivariate monitoring methods have been suggested for dealing with this detection problem. Some of these approaches have shortcomings that have been recently demonstrated in the quality control literature. We discuss these limitations and suggest an alternative multivariate exponentially weighted moving average chart. We compare the average run‐length performance of this chart with that of competing methods. We also evaluate the statistical performance of these charts when the actual increase in the disease count rate is different from the one that the chart was optimized to detect quickly. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Use of carbon isotope analysis to understand semi‐arid erosion dynamics and long‐term semi‐arid land degradation
Authors: Turnbull Laura , Brazier Richard E. , Wainwright John , Dixon Liz , Bol Roland 
Published: April 2008

AbstractMany semi‐arid areas worldwide are becoming degraded, in the form of C4 grasslands being replaced by C3 shrublands, which causes an increase in surface runoff and erosion, and altered nutrient cycling, which may affect global biogeochemical cycling. The prevention or control of vegetation transitions is hindered by a lack of understanding of their temporal and spatial dynamics, particularly in terms of interactions between biotic and abiotic processes. This research investigates (1) the effects of soil erosion on the δ13C values of soil organic matter (SOM) throughout the soil profile and its implications for reconstructing vegetation change using carbon‐isotope analysis and (2) the spatial properties of erosion over a grass‐shrub transition to increase understanding of biotic‐abiotic interactions by using δ13C signals of eroded material as a sediment tracer. Results demonstrate that the soils over grass‐shrub transitions are not in steady state. A complex interplay of factors determines the input of SOM to the surface horizon of the soil and its subsequent retention and turnover through the soil profile. A positive correlation between event runoff and δ13C signatures of eroded sediment was found in all plots. This indicates that the δ13C signatures of eroded sediment may provide a means of distinguishing between changes in erosion dynamics over runoff events of different magnitudes and over different vegetation types. The development of this technique using δ13C signatures of eroded sediment provides a new means of furthering existing understanding of erosion dynamics over vegetation transitions. This is critical in terms of understanding biotic‐abiotic feedbacks and the evolution of areas subject to vegetation change in semi‐arid environments. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Long‐term influence of manure and mineral nitrogen applications on plant and soil 15N and 13C values from the Broadbalk Wheat Experiment
Authors: Senbayram Mehmet , Dixon Liz , Goulding Keith W. T. , Bol Roland 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe Broadbalk Wheat Experiment at Rothamsted Research in the UK provides a unique opportunity to investigate the long‐term impacts of environmental change and agronomic practices on plants and soils. We examined the influence of manure and mineral fertiliser applications on temporal trends in the stable N (15N) and C (13C) isotopes of wheat collected during 1968–1979 and 1996–2005, and of soil collected in 1966 and 2000. The soil δ15N values in 1966 and 2000 were higher in manure than the mineral N supplied soil; the latter had similar or higher δ15N values than non‐fertilised soil. The straw δ15N values significantly decreased in all N treatments during 1968 to 1979, but not for 1996–2005. The straw δ15N values decreased under the highest mineral N supply (192 kg N ha−1 year−1) by 3‰ from 1968 to 1979. Mineral N supply significantly increased to straw δ13C values in dry years, but not in wet years. Significant correlations existed between wheat straw δ13C values with cumulative rainfall (March to June). The cultivar Hereward (grown 1996–2005) was less affected by changes in environmental conditions (i.e. water stress and fertiliser regime) than Cappelle Desprez (1968–1979). We conclude that, in addition to fertiliser type and application rates, water stress and, importantly, plant variety influenced plant δ13C and δ15N values. Hence, water stress and differential variety response should be considered in plant studies using plant δ13C and δ15N trends to delineate past or recent environmental or agronomic changes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Robust trajectory tracking for a reversing tractor trailer
Authors: Pradalier Cédric , Usher Kane 
Published: April 2008

AbstractTractor‐trailer reversing is a classical nonlinear control problem in which many of the solutions proposed in the literature perform poorly in the presence of real‐world constraints such as steering angle, rate limits, and lags. In this paper we describe a new method in which an inner loop controls the hitch angle of the trailer, creating a virtual articulated vehicle to which existing control techniques can be applied. We provide an analysis of the stability and convergence properties of this control approach, as well as experimental results that illustrate the robustness of this approach to model estimation errors, low‐level control loop dynamics, and other disturbances introduced by, for example, state estimation errors. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Long‐term simulations of the dynamics of trout populations on river reaches bypassed by hydroelectric installations—analysis of the impact of different hydrological scenarios
Authors: Gouraud V. , Capra H. , Sabaton C. , Tissot L. , Lim P. , Vandewalle F. , Fahrner G. , Souchon Y. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractChanges in a brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) population result from interaction among various mechanisms which are dependent on environmental conditions and biotic processes. In reaches influenced by the presence of dams, the instream flow in the bypassed section is not the only parameter which affects the population. Flood episodes, the general connectivity of the bypassed section, and the characteristics of the substrate which define the availability and quality of spawning grounds may also have a crucial impact. The design and fine‐tuning of tools which take environmental parameters into account can improve our understanding of the dynamics of such influenced populations. In this perspective, a deterministic model (MODYPOP) has been developed in an attempt to integrate all these factors and to test the effect of different long‐term scenarios of influenced flow regimes on the structure of trout populations. MODYPOP was applied to three populations and three reaches (on the Roizonne, Neste d'Aure and Lignon du Forez rivers in France). For each stream, experiments were carried out on a bypassed section downstream of a hydropower station, before and after an increase in the minimum instream flow due to relicensing. These experiments allowed integrating into MODYPOP local phenomena (impact of flood episodes, impact of flushing, impact of downstream migration of juveniles and adults) affecting the populations during the study period and then calibrating them. To estimate the change in the population due to the increase in minimum instream flow, different long‐term simulations were run, selecting discharge patterns at random. These scenarios help to evaluate the time required for the population to return to a range close to habitat saturation after an improvement in the hydraulic habitat or following a flood event. These applications have enabled determining the relative importance of changes in population density due to different types of events. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fabrication of Suspended Silicon Nanowire Arrays
Authors: Lee Kook‐Nyung , Jung Suk‐Won , Shin Kyu‐Sik , Kim Won‐Hyo , Lee Min‐Ho , Seong Woo‐Kyeong 
Published: April 2008

AbstractA method to fabricate suspended silicon nanowires that are applicable to electronic and electromechanical nanowire devices is reported. The method allows for the wafer‐level production of suspended silicon nanowires using anisotropic etching and thermal oxidation of single‐crystal silicon. The deviation in width of the silicon nanowire bridges produced using the proposed method is evaluated. The NW field‐effect transistor (FET) properties of the device obtained by transferring suspended nanowires are shown to be practical for useful functions.
Prenatal diagnosis of posterior mediastinal lymphangioma by two‐ and three‐dimensional ultrasonography
Authors: Ruano R. , Takashi E. , Schultz R. , Zugaib M. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractLymphangioma is a rare benign tumor characterized by proliferating lymph vessels and composed of large cyst spaces with endothelium‐lined channels of varying dimensions. The incidence of lymphangioma is approximately one in 6000 pregnancies. Less than 1% of lymphangiomas are purely mediastinal. The great majority of cases are of cystic lymphangioma, but very rarely there is a mixed lesion consisting of multiple cysts of dilated capillary and lymph vessels. We report a case of posterior mediastinal lymphangioma diagnosed at 28 weeks' gestation, in which three‐dimensional ultrasonography was helpful in determining the precise location of the tumor. A Cesarean section was performed at 39 weeks and the tumor was resected on the 5th day postdelivery; histological examination revealed a mixed cystic lymphangioma. Copyright © 2008 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Adductor myotomy in cerebral palsy: Uni or bilateral
Authors: Fernandez-Palazzi Federico , Carpio Annie 
Published: April 2008

Introduction In patients with cerebral palsy, the prevention of hip dislocation should be the “primum momens” of early surgery. The surgery consists of a myotomy of the adductor medium, mayor and gracilis, and, in non-ambulatory cases, a neurectomy of the second branch of the obturator nerve. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the adductor myotomy should be performed on the contralateral side at one sitting. Materials and methods In a study performed by our team on 1,474 patients, 792 patients (53.7%) had a unilateral procedure and 682 a bilateral procedure. Results The non-myotomized spastic adductors alter the movement of forces on the femoral head and, thus, 78.20% required a secondary contralateral procedure. The dislocation of the hip in patients whose operations were performed at two different sittings occurred in 20% of cases, and in those with a bilateral procedure at one sitting only in 1%. The increase in the cervicodiaphyseal angle occurred in 23.1% of patients with surgeries performed at two sittings and only in 10% of patients with bilateral procedures at one sitting. Conclusions Our results suggest that the bilateral surgical procedure at one sitting should be recommended to equalize the movements of force in spastic hips.
Activation of kappa opioid receptors decreases synaptic transmission and inhibits long‐term potentiation in the basolateral amygdala of the mouse
Authors: Huge Volker , Rammes Gerhard , Beyer Antje , Zieglgänsberger Walter , Azad Shahnaz C. 
Published: April 2008

ABSTRACTBackground: The amygdala plays an important role in the processing of chronic pain and pain memory formation. Particularly, it is involved in the emotional and affective components of the pain circuitry. The role of kappa opioid receptors in these pain conditions is only partly known. The present study investigates the effect of kappa receptor activation on synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity in the amygdala.Methods: Electrophysiological in vitro experiments were carried out in brain slices of male C57BL/6JOlaHsd mice. The effect of the kappa opioid receptor agonist U50,488H (5μM) and the selective kappa opioid receptor antagonist nor‐BNI (3μM) on field potential (FP) amplitude and the induction of long‐term potentiation (LTP) in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) was examined.Results: High frequency stimulation (HFS) of afferents in the lateral amygdala with two trains of 100 pulses at 50Hz increased the FP amplitudes to 119±2% (mean±SEM; n=6) in the BLA. U50,488H decreased synaptic transmission (baseline: 100±0.5%; U50,488H: 86.3±2.4%; n=6) and blocked the induction of LTP (U50,488H: 100±4.1%; HFS: 102.6±7%; n=6). The effect on synaptic transmission and on LTP was completely reversed or prevented by application of nor‐BNI, which itself had no effect on synaptic transmission or the induction of LTP.Conclusion: Kappa opioid receptor activation decreases synaptic transmission and inhibits the induction of LTP in the BLA of the mouse. These findings may be associated with the effects of kappa opioid agonists in chronic pain and pain memory formation.
Lichenothelia renobalesiana sp. nov. (Lichenotheliaceae), for a lichenicolous ascomycete confused with Polycoccum opulentum (Dacampiaceae)
Authors: ATIENZA Violeta , HAWKSWORTH David L. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract:The name Polycoccum opulentum proves to have been wrongly applied to a lichenicolous fungus belonging to the genus Lichenothelia, and which differs from the type material of P. opulentum in having non-ostiolate broadly stipitate ascomata and narrow ascospores with a conspicuous gelatinous sheath. The Lichenothelia represents an hitherto undescribed species, named here as L. renobalesiana, sp. nov. which is associated with verrucarialean lichens on hard limestones in temperate regions. The true P. opulentum is known only from the original collection on Polyblastia hyperborea from Sweden.
A new species of Lecanora s. lat., growing on Lasallia pustulata
Authors: PÉREZ-ORTEGA Sergio , ETAYO Javier 
Published: April 2008

Abstract:The new species Lecanora lasalliae Pérez-Ortega & Etayo is described from Spain. It is included provisionally in Lecanora s. lat as characters such as Lecanora-type ascus, exciple composed of thick radiating hyphae and the usual presence of algal cells in the excipulum or its lichenicolous habitus on Lasallia pustulata, do not fit well within any known genus of lichenicolous or lichenized fungi. Its taxonomic affinities with several taxa are discussed, including the parasitic Lecanora gyrophorina.
Aspicilia berntii, a new name for a poorly known species
Authors: NORDIN Anders , TIBELL Leif , OWE-LARSSON Björn 
Published: April 2008

Abstract:The new name Aspicilia berntii is proposed to accommodate Lecanora mastoidea Lynge in Aspicilia and a lectotype is designated. Additional characters are added to the species description and a comparison is made with similar species. The species is reported as new to Scandinavia with localities in northern Norway. An assessement of the phylogenetic relationships, based on a split network analysis of ITS sequences, places A. berntii close to A. verrucigera in the A. cinerea group.
Lichen diversity of coarse woody habitats in a Pinus-Larix stand in the Italian Alps
Authors: NASCIMBENE Juri , MARINI Lorenzo , MOTTA Renzo , NIMIS Pier Luigi 
Published: April 2008

Abstract:In the European Alps, subalpine forests are important for lichen diversity conservation at multiple levels. However, the potential role of coarse woody debris (CWD) has been only marginally considered in the previous literature. The aims of this case study are (i) to provide a first evaluation of the effects of different types of CWD (stumps, logs, and snags) and wood decay on lichen diversity in Pinus-Larix forests in the Italian Alps, and (ii) to increase the knowledge of the lichen biota on CWD in Italy. Seventy-eight species were found, including 12 nationally rare and 10 calicioid species; Placynthiella hyporhoda is new to Italy. Different types of CWD in different decay stages had significantly different lichen communities. Snags seem to be particularly effective for conservation, since they host the highest number of nationally rare species. Our survey suggests that CWD could be an important substratum for several nationally rare species, indicating that further surveys at a regional scale are urgently required in order to evaluate the role of CWD for lichen diversity conservation in the Alps.
David Hume and international political theory: a reappraisal
Authors: VAN DE HAAR EDWIN 
Published: April 2008

AbstractDavid Hume’s ideas on international relations are different than most international relations academics suppose. Close scrutiny of Hume’s views on the nation, international society, war, balance of power, empire and trade reveals the need to reassess his place within international political theory. Taking an English School perspective, the analysis also shows the possible benefits for IR theorists within this tradition to focus on Scottish Enlightenment philosophy, which will also strengthen the position of the pluralist perspective within international society.
Biopolitics of security in the 21st century: an introduction
Authors: DILLON MICHAEL , LOBO-GUERRERO LUIS 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThis essay addresses two questions. It first asks what happens to security practices when they take species life as their referent object. It then asks what happens to security practices which take species life as their referent object when the very understanding of species life undergoes transformation and change. In the process of addressing these two questions the essay provides an exegesis of Michel Foucault’s analytic of biopolitics as a dispositif de sécurité and contrasts this account of security with that given by traditional geopolitical security discourses. The essay also theorises beyond Foucault when it interrogates the impact in the twentieth century of the compression of morbidity on populations and the molecular revolution on what we now understand life to be. It concludes that ‘population’, which was the empirical referent of early biopolitics, is being superseded by ‘heterogenesis’. This serves as the empirical referent for the recombinant biopolitics of security in the molecular age.
‘To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’: the US, UN and the violence of security
Authors: SHEPHERD LAURA J. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThis investigation explores the ways in which discourses of security functioned to allow military intervention in Iraq to become ‘thinkable’, and how these actions serve to reconfigure not only the identities of states – the US and Iraq – but also the characteristics of the international as a spatial and conceptual domain. In the weeks preceding the military intervention in Iraq, significant negotiations were conducted between the US government and the UN that were commented on extensively in press statements and other documents released by both parties. Drawing on UNSC Resolutions, public debates and academic analyses, in this article I analyse the relations between the US and the UN in the build-up to the Iraq war, making two related claims.First, I argue that each discourse is organised around a particular logic of security. By ‘logics of security’, I mean the ways in which various concepts are organised within specific discourses of security. That is, each competing conceptualisation of security has a distinct primary focus, referent object and perspective on the arrangement of the international system. The ways in which these claims are made, the assumptions that inform them, and the policy prescriptions that issue from them, are what I refer to as ‘logics of security’. Second, I argue that the intervention in Iraq, a violence undertaken in the name of ‘security’, has functioned to reproduce the international as a spatial and conceptual domain according to the logic of a highly conventional narrative of sovereigneity, and, ultimately, of state identity.
Cost-effectiveness of pressure-relieving devices for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers
Authors: Fleurence Rachael L. 
Published: April 2008

Objectives:The cost-effectiveness of alternating pressure-relieving devices, mattress replacements, and mattress overlays compared with a standard hospital (high-specification foam mattress) for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers in hospital patients in the United Kingdom was investigated.Methods:A decision-analytic model was constructed to evaluate different strategies to prevent or treat pressure ulcers. Three scenarios were evaluated: the prevention of pressure ulcers, the treatment of superficial ulcers, and the treatment of severe ulcers. Epidemiological and effectiveness data were obtained from the clinical literature. Expert opinion using a rating scale technique was used to obtain quality of life data. Costs of the devices were obtained from manufacturers, whereas costs of treatment were obtained from the literature. Uncertainty was explored through probabilistic sensitivity analysis.Results:Using £30,000/QALY (quality-adjusted life year) as the decision-maker's cut off point (the current UK standard), in scenario 1 (prevention), the cost-effective strategy was the mattress overlay at 1, 4, and 12 weeks. In scenarios 2 and 3, the cost-effective strategy was the mattress replacement at 1, 4, and 12 weeks. Standard care was a dominated intervention in all scenarios for values of the decision-maker's ceiling ratio ranging from £5,000 to £100,000/QALY. However, the probabilistic sensitivity analysis results reflected the high uncertainty surrounding the choice of devices.Conclusions:Current information suggests that alternating pressure mattress overlays may be cost-effective for the prevention of pressure ulcers, whereas alternating pressure mattress replacements appears to be cost-effective for the treatment of superficial and severe pressure ulcers.
Impact of uncertainty on cost-effectiveness analysis of medical strategies: The case of high-dose chemotherapy for breast cancer patients
Authors: Marino Patricia , Siani Carole , Roché Henri , Moatti Jean-Paul ,   for the PEGASE group
Published: April 2008

Objectives:The object of this study was to determine, taking into account uncertainty on cost and outcome parameters, the cost-effectiveness of high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) compared with conventional chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer patients.Methods:An analysis was conducted for 300 patients included in a randomized clinical trial designed to evaluate the benefits, in terms of disease-free survival and overall survival, of adding a single course of HDC to a four-cycle conventional-dose chemotherapy for breast cancer patients with axillary lymph node invasion. Costs were estimated from a detailed observation of physical quantities consumed, and the Kaplan–Meier method was used to evaluate mean survival times. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were evaluated successively considering disease-free survival and overall survival outcomes. Handling of uncertainty consisted in construction of confidence intervals for these ratios, using the truncated Fieller method.Results:The cost per disease-free life year gained was evaluated at 13,074€, a value that seems to be acceptable to society. However, handling uncertainty shows that the upper bound of the confidence interval is around 38,000€, which is nearly three times higher. Moreover, as no difference was demonstrated in overall survival between treatments, cost-effectiveness analysis, that is a cost minimization, indicated that the intensive treatment is a dominated strategy involving an extra cost of 7,400€, for no added benefit.Conclusions:Adding a single course of HDC led to a clinical benefit in terms of disease-free survival for an additional cost that seems to be acceptable, considering the point estimate of the ratio. However, handling uncertainty indicates a maximum ratio for which conclusions have to be discussed.