bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Psychological morbidity and burnout in palliative care doctors in Western Australia
Authors: Dunwoodie D. A. , Auret K. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground: Medicine and particularly palliative care are considered to be stressful professions, with risks of psychological morbidity and burnout. There is little published work quantitatively documenting their prevalence among medical practitioners practising in palliative care.Methods: Three questionnaires, including the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, were sent to palliative care practitioners in Western Australia.Results: Forty‐one of 43 (95%) practitioners completed the questionnaires. The mean score on the GHQ‐12 was 1.9 (range 0–8), with 11 (27%) scoring 4 or more. On the Maslach Burnout Inventory, mean scores on the emotional exhaustion (EE, mean 17.5, range 1–47) and depersonalization subscales (DP, 4.5, 0–24) fell within the low range, with scores for personal accomplishment (39, 32–46) falling within the average range. Ten respondents (24%) scored high on either the EE subscale or the DP subscale, meeting criteria for burnout. GHQ‐12 scores were associated with hours of work per week in palliative care (P = 0.004). The EE (P = 0.024) and DP (P = 0.006) components of burnout were associated with years of work in palliative care. Specialist practitioners were more likely to score in the high category for GHQ‐12 (odds ratio = 4.8, P = 0.036) and EE (odds ratio = 8.33, P = 0.031). GHQ (P = 0.038) and DP (P = 0.006) scores were higher in those working in tertiary institutions, with tertiary practitioners more likely to be in the high EE category (odds ratio = 7.5, P = 0.034).Conclusion: Levels of psychiatric morbidity and burnout in palliative medicine are not higher than in other specialties.
Vitamin D deficiency in a multinational refugee population
Authors: Wishart H. D. , Reeve A. M. F. , Grant C. C. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground: Populations with increased skin pigmentation who have migrated to countries of high latitude are at increased risk of low vitamin D. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of low vitamin D among the refugee population arriving in New Zealand.Methods: An audit of all refugees arriving at the national refugee resettlement centre from May 2004 to May 2005 was carried out. Serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D3 levels were measured and defined as normal (50–150 nmol/L) or low, with low subdivided into insufficient (25 to <50 nmol/L) and deficient (<25 nmol/L). Whether vitamin D status varied with age and sex was determined.Results: Vitamin D was measured in 869 (99%) of the refugees and was low in 470 (54%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 51–57%). It was insufficient in 323 (37%, 95%CI 34–41%) and deficient in 147 (17%, 95%CI 15–20%). Female sex was associated with at least a 10 times increased risk of vitamin D deficiency (relative ratio 13.93, 95%CI 10.15–17.96). Women aged between 17 and 45 years and men aged 46 years and more were at greatest risk.Conclusion: Poor vitamin D status is prevalent among refugees arriving in New Zealand. Women, particularly those of child‐bearing age are at greatest risk. Screening and ongoing surveillance for vitamin D deficiency should be considered for all recent refugee immigrants to New Zealand.
Delirium in elderly general medical inpatients: a prospective study
Authors: Iseli R. K. , Brand C. , Telford M. , LoGiudice D. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBackground: More than 49% of all US hospital days are spent caring for patients with delirium. There are few Australian data on this important condition. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and incidence of delirium in older medical inpatients in a metropolitan teaching hospital, the incidence of known risk factors and current practice in identifying and managing patients at risk of this condition.Methods: Patients aged 65 years or more, and admitted to a general medical unit, were eligible for study inclusion. Participants were screened with an Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS) and chart review. Confusion Assessment Method was used to diagnose delirium if confusion was documented or AMTS <8. Barthel Index (BI), demographics, delirium risk factors and management were recorded.Results: Prevalent delirium was diagnosed in 19 of 104 (18%) and incident delirium in 2 of 85 (2%) participants. Pre‐existing cognitive impairment and admission AMTS <8 were strongly associated with prevalent delirium (P‐values <0.01). Age >80 years, Barthel Index ≤50, use of high‐risk medications and electrolyte disturbance were also associated with prevalent delirium. Prevalent delirium was not recognized by the treating unit in 4 of 19 cases (21%). Five of 104 (4.8%) of participants had a formal cognitive assessment on admission. One of 19 patients (5.3%) with prevalent delirium had an orientation device in their room.Conclusion: Pre‐existing cognitive impairment and admission AMTS are strong predictors of delirium. Despite this, formal cognitive assessment is not routinely carried out in elderly medical patients. Recognition of delirium may be improved by routine cognitive assessment in elderly medical patients.
Environmental and plant community determinants of species loss following nitrogen enrichment
Authors: Clark Chris M. , Cleland Elsa E. , Collins Scott L. , Fargione Joseph E. , Gough Laura , Gross Katherine L. , Pennings Steven C. , Suding Katherine N. , Grace James B. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractGlobal energy use and food production have increased nitrogen inputs to ecosystems worldwide, impacting plant community diversity, composition, and function. Previous studies show considerable variation across terrestrial herbaceous ecosystems in the magnitude of species loss following nitrogen (N) enrichment. What controls this variation remains unknown. We present results from 23 N‐addition experiments across North America, representing a range of climatic, soil and plant community properties, to determine conditions that lead to greater diversity decline. Species loss in these communities ranged from 0 to 65% of control richness. Using hierarchical structural equation modelling, we found greater species loss in communities with a lower soil cation exchange capacity, colder regional temperature, and larger production increase following N addition, independent of initial species richness, plant productivity, and the relative abundance of most plant functional groups. Our results indicate sensitivity to N addition is co‐determined by environmental conditions and production responsiveness, which overwhelm the effects of initial community structure and composition.
Altitudinal gradients of grassland carbon and nitrogen isotope composition are recorded in the hair of grazers
Authors: Männel Tobias Tassilo , Auerswald Karl , Schnyder Hans 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTAim  The hair of grazers provides an isotopic record of environmental and nutritional signals. Here, we assess the effect of altitude on the carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of the hair of ruminant grazers and its relation to grassland vegetation, to evaluate the use of hair isotope data for ecosystem reconstruction, animal nutritional ecology and biogeochemical studies in montane environments.Location  European Alps.Methods  We sampled grassland vegetation (pure C3) and the hair of ruminants along an altitudinal gradient (400–2500 m), and analysed their isotope composition (δ13C and δ15N). Results were compared with published effects of altitude on 13C in C3 plants at the species level and on 15N at the community level. The study was complemented with a comparison of diet and hair isotope composition in ruminants held in confinement.Results  δ13C of hair increased (c. 1.1‰ km−1) and δ15N decreased (c. 1.1‰ km−1) with altitude. The same changes occurred in local grassland vegetation, and in regional to global grassland data sets. Offsets between hair and vegetation 13C or 15N (‘diet–hair shift’) were independent of altitude. Sheep (Ovis aries) and cattle (Bos taurus) exhibited a 13C shift near +3‰, but that of goats (Capra hircus) was larger (+4.2‰) in alpine environments and in confinement. The diet–hair shift for 15N was more variable (+2.1 to +3.6‰).Main conclusions  Grazer hair provides a faithful spatially and temporally integrated record of grassland isotope composition, useful for ecosystem and environment reconstruction. The effect of altitude on hair 15N is important for studies of trophic relationships: an altitude shift of 2000 m produced the same effect in hair 15N as would a shift from an animal tissue‐based to a plant‐based diet. The similarity of altitude effects on δ13C of individual plant species, vegetation and hair indicates that the effect of altitude on species‐level ‘intrinsic water use efficiency’ scales up linearly to the community and landscape level.
Latitudinal patterns of range size and species richness of New World woody plants
Authors: Weiser Michael D. , Enquist Brian J. , Boyle Brad , Killeen Timothy J. , Jørgensen Peter M. , Fonseca Gustavo , Jennings Michael D. , Kerkhoff Andrew J. , Lacher Jr Thomas E. , Monteagudo Abel , Vargas M. Percy Núñez , Phillips Oliver L. , Swenson Nathan G. , Martínez Rodolfo Vásquez 
Published: May 2007

ABSTRACTAim Relationships between range size and species richness are contentious, yet they are key to testing the various hypotheses that attempt to explain latitudinal diversity gradients. Our goal is to utilize the largest data set yet compiled for New World woody plant biogeography to describe and assess these relationships between species richness and range size.Location North and South America.Methods We estimated the latitudinal extent of 12,980 species of woody plants (trees, shrubs, lianas). From these estimates we quantified latitudinal patterns of species richness and range size. We compared our observations with expectations derived from two null models.Results  Peak richness and the smallest‐ and largest‐ranged species are generally found close to the equator. In contrast to prominent diversity hypotheses: (1) mean latitudinal extent of tropical species isgreaterthan expected; (2) latitudinal extent appears to be decoupled from species richness across New World latitudes, with abrupt transitions across subtropical latitudes; and (3) mean latitudinal extents show equatorial and north temperate peaks and subtropical minima. Our results suggest that patterns of range size and richness appear to be influenced by three broadly overlapping biotic domains (biotic provinces) for New World woody plants.Main conclusions Hypotheses that assume a direct relationship between range size and species richness may explain richness patternswithinthese domains, but cannot explain gradients in richnessacrossthe New World.
On Exact Error Bounds for View‐Dependent Simplification
Authors: Eisemann E. , Décoret X. 
Published: May 2007

Abstract In this article we present an analytical closed‐form expression to ensure exact error bounds for view‐dependent simplification which is of importance for several algorithms. The present work contains proofs and solutions for the general 2D case and particular 3D cases. Most preceding works rely on coarse heuristics, that might fail and/or restrict movements or object representations. We introduce the notion of validity regions as the complete set of possible simplifications respecting a given error bound between the object and its simplification. The approach handles arbitrary polygonal viewcells which allow for free movement in the interior. We show how to compute these regions for mesh points and faces. Since the validity region of a face accounts for all its points, properties like silhouette preservation and textures are gracefully handled. This is not the case if the error is controlled only at the face's vertices or edges.
Efficient RANSAC for Point‐Cloud Shape Detection
Authors: Schnabel R. , Wahl R. , Klein R. 
Published: May 2007

Abstract In this paper we present an automatic algorithm to detect basic shapes in unorganized point clouds. The algorithm decomposes the point cloud into a concise, hybrid structure of inherent shapes and a set of remaining points. Each detected shape serves as a proxy for a set of corresponding points. Our method is based on random sampling and detects planes, spheres, cylinders, cones and tori. For models with surfaces composed of these basic shapes only, for example, CAD models, we automatically obtain a representation solely consisting of shape proxies. We demonstrate that the algorithm is robust even in the presence of many outliers and a high degree of noise. The proposed method scales well with respect to the size of the input point cloud and the number and size of the shapes within the data. Even point sets with several millions of samples are robustly decomposed within less than a minute. Moreover, the algorithm is conceptually simple and easy to implement. Application areas include measurement of physical parameters, scan registration, surface compression, hybrid rendering, shape classification, meshing, simplification, approximation and reverse engineering.
The British Government's strategy for SEN: implications for the role and future development of special schools
Authors: BAKER JOHN 
Published: May 2007

In July 2006, the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee reported on Special Educational Needs. The report expressed concern over the Government's policy on SEN, especially as it relates to inclusion and to the confusion this has created for special schools. In this article I shall attempt to tease out what I believe to be the government's policy on special schools, drawing on the 2004 report Removing Barriers to Achievement: the Government's Strategy for SEN and other related documents. From an analysis of the texts and drawing on my own lengthy experience working in special schools, I believe two central themes emerge for the role of special schools: (a) that of providing schooling for pupils with the most severe and complex SEN; and (b) using their expertise to provide outreach support to mainstream schools for pupils with SEN.The writer is currently following an EdD course of study at the Institute of Education, University of London and this article draws on an assignment he prepared on Contemporary Policy.
Urban Governance and the Transition of Energy Systems: Institutional Change and Shifting Energy and Climate Policies in Berlin
Authors: MONSTADT JOCHEN 
Published: May 2007

AbstractEnergy systems in Germany and in all western OECD countries are currently undergoing transformations that have profound implications for their urban and regional governance, as well as for regional development in general. New technologies, regulatory regimes, management styles, marketing strategies and environmental priorities have emerged, dramatically reconfiguring patterns of governance within cities and regions. This is particularly obvious in the city region of Berlin, where utility restructuring coincides with a dramatic fiscal crisis in the city. The privatization of the energy utilities and of many public services, the opening of the regional energy markets, public and private climate protection initiatives and the emergence of new market participants are radically changing the conditions of regional governance and energy planning. However, although substantial recasting of policy issues and traditional forms of governance in the energy sector is underway in Berlin, energy management is confronted with severe institutional problems of interpolicy coordination and regional cooperation, entrepreneurial governance and contract management. Thus, this article argues in favour of new policy approaches and institutional reforms to shape the development of energy networks according to local and regional sustainability needs.RésuméEn Allemagne et dans tous les pays occidentaux de l’OCDE, les systèmes énergétiques connaissent des transformations qui affectent profondément la gouvernance urbaine et régionale, de même que l’évolution des régions en général. Nouvelles technologies, mécanismes régulateurs, styles de gestion, stratégies de marketing et priorités environnementales ont vu le jour, reconfigurant considérablement les modèles de gouvernance des villes et régions. Cette transformation est évidente dans la région métropolitaine de Berlin où la restructuration des services à la population coïncide avec une énorme crise fiscale de la municipalité. La privatisation de la distribution d’énergie et de nombreux services publics, l’ouverture des marchés régionaux de l’énergie, les initiatives publiques et privées de préservation du climat, ainsi que l’apparition de nouveaux acteurs sur les marchés ont affecté radicalement les conditions de la gouvernance régionale et la planification énergétique. Toutefois, malgré une large refonte des enjeux politiques et des formes traditionnelles de gouvernance dans le secteur énergétique, la gestion de l’énergie à Berlin est confrontée à de graves problèmes institutionnels de coordination entre politiques et de coopération régionale, de gouvernance de type entrepreneurial et d’administration des marchés. C’est pourquoi cet article préconise à la fois de nouvelles approches de politique publique et des réformes institutionnelles pour configurer l’aménagement des réseaux énergétiques en fonction des besoins en durabilité locaux et régionaux.
Megalopolis 50 Years On: The Transformation of a City Region
Authors: VICINO THOMAS J. , HANLON BERNADETTE , SHORT JOHN RENNIE 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis article examines Megalopolis 50 years after Gottmann’s seminal study of the most urbanized region of the US Eastern Seaboard. His study provides an invaluable datum point, and we use it as a benchmark for reexamining the socio‐spatial transformations of a city region. After redefining Megalopolis and showing major aggregate trends since 1950, we analyze 39 selected variables for place level census data for 2,353 places to perform a principal components analysis (PCA). Our analysis shows that Megalopolis remains a significant center for the nation’s population and economic activity. A half century of urban restructuring demonstrates that the forces of urban decentralization have made the region a more fully suburbanized agglomeration. We reveal a complex socioeconomic pattern of a vast urban area structured by class, education, housing tenure, housing age, and race and ethnicity. The cluster analysis reveals five distinct clusters of urban places identified by our PCA: ‘affluent places’, ‘places of poverty’, ‘Black middle class places’, ‘immigrant gateway places’ and ‘middle America places’.RésuméIl s’agit ici de revenir sur Mégalopolis 50 ans après l’étude majeure de Gottmann sur la région la plus urbanisée du littoral Est des Etats‐Unis. Son étude procure un point de départ inestimable utilisé ici comme référence à partir de laquelle rééxaminer les transformations socio‐spatiales d’une région métropolitaine. Dans un premier temps, ce travail redéfinit Mégalopolis et présente les grandes tendances à la concentration depuis 1950. Il analyse ensuite 39 variables choisies, portant sur les données de recensement des lieux par niveau (2.353 lieux traités), afin d’effectuer une analyse en composantes principales (PCA). Celle‐ci montre que Mégalopolis demeure un nœud important pour la population et l’activitééconomique nationales. Un demi‐siècle de restructuration urbaine met en évidence que, à cause des forces de décentralisation urbaine, la région est devenue une agglomération aux banlieues plus étendues. Il se dégage un schéma socioéconomique complexe propre à une vaste zone urbaine structurée par classe, niveau d’éducation, type de jouissance du logement, ancienneté des habitations, ainsi que par race et ethnicité. Une analyse des pôles (clusters) révèlent cinq pôles de lieux urbains repérés par l’analyse PCA: ‘lieux aisés’, ‘lieux pauvres’, ‘lieux pour classes moyennes noires’, ‘lieux d’entrée des immigrants’, et ‘lieux pour Américains moyens’.
Re‐thinking the Nature of the Informal Economy: Some Lessons from Ukraine
Authors: WILLIAMS COLIN C. , ROUND JOHN 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis article provides a critical evaluation of the competing discourses that variously represent the informal economy as a residue or leftover of some pre‐capitalist era, a by‐product of a new type of emergent formal economy, an alternative mode of work organization or a complement to the formal economy. Drawing upon evidence from a study of 600 households in Ukraine that unravels the heterogeneous forms of work in the informal economy, the finding is that although each and every representation is wholly valid in relation to specific types of informal work, no one articulation fully captures the diverse nature and multiple meanings of the informal economy. Here, in consequence, it is contended that only by using all of them will a finer‐grained and more comprehensive understanding of the complex and multifarious character of the informal economy be achieved. To display how this can be achieved, a conceptual framework is then presented that couples together these contrasting representations in order to provide a more multi‐layered and nuanced depiction of the informal economy, followed by a discussion of the implications for urban and regional development and policy of recognizing the multiple and diverse types of informal work.RésuméCet article donne une appréciation critique des différents discours selon lesquels l’économie informelle apparaît respectivement comme un résidu ou un vestige d’une ère précapitaliste, un sous‐produit issu d’un nouveau genre d’économie officielle émergente, un mode alternatif d’organisation du travail ou un complément à l’économie officielle. A partir des résultats d’une étude effectuée sur 600 foyers ukrainiens, qui décortique les formes hétérogènes du travail au sein de l’économie informelle, il est déduit que, même si chacune des représentations est tout à fait exacte pour des types donnés de travail informel, aucune explication n’appréhende entièrement la nature diverse et les sens multiples de cette économie. En conséquence, ce n’est qu’en les utilisant toutes qu’on obtiendra une compréhension plus fine et plus exhaustive du caractère complexe et varié de l’économie informelle. Pour ce faire, il est présenté un cadre conceptuel qui associe ces représentations contradictoires afin d’aboutir à un tableau plus nuancé, composé de plusieurs niveaux. Suit une étude des implications pour la politique et l’aménagement urbains et régionaux si les divers et multiples types de travail informel étaient reconnus.
Autonomic dysfunction in unselected and untreated primary open angle glaucoma patients: a pilot study
Authors: Gherghel Doina , Hosking Sarah Louise , Armstrong Richard , Cunliffe Ian Andrew 
Published: May 2007

AbstractPurpose:  To investigate the presence of silent cardiac ischaemic episodes and the status of autonomic function in consecutive, newly diagnosed and untreated primary open‐angle glaucoma patients.Methods:  Twenty‐four consecutively diagnosed glaucoma patients and 22 age‐matched controls were subjected to ambulatory 24‐h blood pressure (BP) and electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring by using Cardiotens‐01 (Meditech Ltd). Based on the ECG recordings, heart rate variability (HRV) frequency domain parameters [low‐frequency (LF), high‐frequency (HF) and LF/HF ratio] were calculated and analysed in the two study groups.Results:  Glaucoma patients demonstrated higher LF and LF/HF values than normal subjects for both the active period (p = 0.020 and 0.029) and the passive period (p = 0.044 and 0.049 respectively). HRV parameters were similar in patients and controls suffering from silent cardiac ischaemia (p > 0.05); however, glaucoma patients with normal ECG demonstrated higher LF and LF/HF values during the active period of the 24‐h measurement period than control subjects characterized by the same cardiac activity (p = 0.010 and 0.021 respectively).Conclusion:  Independent of a history and/or clinical signs of cardiovascular disease, glaucoma patients exhibit abnormal autonomic function.